Sailor's Song
by Rave The Rich
Summary: Cream/Marine fic. Shoujo-ai/Yuri fic. One is an aspiring musician, the other is a midshipman. They know there's chemistry between them, but they don't have much time to see if it will work long term. Please read and review.
1. Opportunity Rings

Sailor's Song

Yeah, you'll get to see some more of me before you know it. I'm Rave The Rich and I dare you to find another author quite like me. In this case, I bring you, the first of its kind that I know of, a Marine/Cream fic. Yes, I'm well aware that that is a girl/girl pairing and Alternate Universe, but this one has been given great thought over a few weeks. I encourage open minds as it pertains to this story. The posted rating is for language, sexual content and drug use, including alcohol.

DISCLAIMER: Marine, Cream and all other related characters and properties are owned and operated by SEGA Corporation and Sonic Team. This author makes no such claims and is not paid or compensated for the production of this fiction. Please do not flame.

(Chapter 1- Opportunity Rings)

* * *

The setting is one that can be traced to a musical aficionado if there ever were one. Hanging on the wall of the room are not one or two, but three different guitars; one being acoustic, the other, electric and the final one, electric bass. The walls are also adorned with musical notes, a couple of records and posters of various bands both classic and modern.

Right now, the room ebbs a mostly ambiguous feel. One can't be too sure, from taste in music alone, just who lives within these four walls. They're painted in a cherry red and a compartment drawer parallel to the door appears to be made with anyone and everyone in mind.

Decorations cannot readily determine attitudes, however, and neither can the numerous clothes scattered around the room. In the full-size bed lays someone whose demeanor over the years has transitioned from corn syrup sweetness to edginess equal to that of her friend, the blue blur.

Lying down in her bed, one can tell her style has changed quite a bit from her days of youth. Gone are the yellow and orange tea party dresses and in their place for Cream the Rabbit, age eighteen, are jean shorts, spaghetti strap tanks, which fall just above the navel, and flip flops worn to match the mood. It serves as her casual gear for lazy days such as this and the last few since her graduation in early June.

As Cream listens to instrumental music through ear buds and reads from a paperback novel, she ponders just how different things will be for her in a month or so when she goes to university for music. Sure, with a GPA of 4.29, she could do anything she wanted and practically go to school wherever she wanted. Nothing else, though, stirs her passion as much as music.

One would only have to ask her mother, especially during nights outside of her home where Cream would compose her own songs past midnight and on into the morning sunrise. Mother Vanilla has been nothing but supportive of her only child's life decision, offering Cream encouragement and love when it comes to songwriting and everything else that is on her mind during this important transition in her life.

Two knocks on the door raise her long ears and cause Cream to look up from her semi-casual reading. Her door opens and her mom, on the other side, holds up the house phone while Cream removes the buds from out of her ears.

"Dear?" Vanilla greets, "The phone's for you."

Cream's expression shows a bit of confusion as she has no clue who would be calling her this early in the morning without any prior warning. "Who is it?"

"It's Vector," she responds as Cream appears to breathe a sigh of relief. While she didn't mind taking a phone call, she did have a notable exception to that rule. Afterwards, Vanilla's thoughts were confirmed as to her daughter's pressing concern. She smiles and adds, "Don't worry, sweetheart. I'm not gonna allow Tails to call you again on my watch; unless he plans on apologizing to you first."

With that promise, Vanilla hands the cordless phone off to her daughter, who thanks her mom on Vanilla's way out, sits up in her bed and says "Hello," to the speaking end of the receiver.

"Good morning, Cream!" A burly but cheerful voice greets from the other end. "This is Vector. How are you doing?"

"I'm well, all things considered," Cream answers while getting up from the bed and completely closing the door to her room. "You called because there's something you wanted, am I right?"

"That you are, Cream," Vector speaks, getting to the reason why he's calling his longtime friend. "You see, I know you wanted to get some money before you head for school in September, so I have a proposition for you. My old partner Mighty and his band are back in town for a few gigs in the area, but their bass player has the flu. They're in quite a bind as they don't have any backups or understudies, but I did tell them that you have some of their sheet music that you asked to use for your independent study course last year.

"Now, you don't have to do it and the first gig is in about five days to give you some time to get acclimated to the band," he continues, "but they're more than willing to give you a nice cut of what they make if you decide to join them on the upcoming dates."

"Define a 'nice cut', and your armadillo friend _might_ have himself a bass player, Vec." The sass which she exudes sharply contrasts with the girl's business-like approach to artistic performance. Cream simply refuses to take Vector's word as gospel, having been made a fool by bands and musicians in the past. "I'd like to speak to Mighty before I do anything else, though. Having more experience in a band will only help me, but if I can't get anything out of it other than experience when I've been paid to do this since the age of twelve, it's really not worth my time."

"You know that I would never steer you wrong. Right, Cream?" Vector asks. The question is rhetorical, though, as he adds, "I just came to you because…of how things like this seem to fall into place. You know their music and they'll be local so you won't have to be far away from your mom before you head off to school."

"So when's your old Chaotix teammate coming back in town so we can negotiate in person and get this started?"

"He's actually in the office right now and staying with me to practice their sets."

Cream suddenly hears a deep voice in the background yelling to Vector along with the distinct sound of swift, flapping wings buzzing about, "No, Vector! Mighty left with Ray and Espio to get groceries, but they should be back in about an hour."

"Thanks, Charmy!" Vector calls out to the bee as he buzzes off to tend to some other business. Speaking back into the receiver, Vector repeats what he heard from his longtime friend back to Cream.

"Sounds great," she admits. "Anything to get me focused on what's most important in my life."

"All right, I'll text Mighty and hit you back when he's ready to speak with you. Oh, and Cream?"

"Yes, Vector?"

Not knowing exactly how to approach her very delicate situation, Vector decides to just shoot from the hip with a girl he's known since she was little. "I know things…should be better in your life right now than they are, but you're getting a new start soon and that can only help matters. With what Tails did—you know what? You probably don't want to hear about that, so I won't say anymore about it."

"I don't, thank you very much."

"Your mom has been talking to me about this school you're going to – Genesis Dream Masters Music Academy – and it all sounds wonderful, really."

"It's one of the best for music I could find."

"You'll always have my support if you need anything from a shoulder to cry on to an ear to talk in, I'm here, Cream. I'm as proud of you as I'd be my own daughter…if I had one." For some reason, that line causes Cream to giggle. Perhaps it's because she always enjoys speaking with Vector because it's so obvious when a slip of the tongue occurs with him that when he attempts to correct it, he experiences a figurative but comical fall flat on his face.

Fortunately, he often knows when enough is enough. "Good luck to you, Cream. I…I'll see you later."

"'Kay," she replies. "Bye, Vec."

"Later," he says before hanging up while Cream does the same. Walking over to her closet, she swaps her flip flops for brown leather sandals, takes a guitar case from out of the closet and removes the black wooden bass guitar from her wall, placing it into the case. Her instrument is ready and, though Vector didn't say she needed it, she brings some sheet music if only to build a sense of credibility in Mighty's mind.

Heading downstairs, she passes her mother while going to the coat closet. "So what did Vector want, sweetheart?"

"I'm considering signing up for some dates with Mighty and his band. I'm going over to negotiate and play for him today. Don't wait up for me."

"No problem," Vanilla says before running up to her daughter to give her a hug and kiss. "This is a great opportunity. Mighty does some fine work back in his hometown and…I really hope it works out for you."

"Me too, Mom," Cream admits. "I'll be back this afternoon with…hopefully good news for once."

"For all of our sakes, I hope so," Cream's mom wishes. "Have fun, dear. I love you."

"Love you, too," she says back to her mother before taking her equipment out to her transportation.

Loading her goods onto the back of a green and white-trimmed scooter, she puts on a bicycle helmet, turns on the ignition and drives off to the Chaotix Detective Agency.

Driving off, she figures out loud, "This should give me some time to make a stop for nourishment if I need it."

* * *

A/N: First chapter in the books. The next one sets the back story for Marine the Raccoon. The title might give it away, though. Please read and review to let me know how this is going.

Until next time, this is Rave!


	2. Heartbreaker for Shore

Sailor's Song

Cream gets an invite to fill in for Mighty the Armadillo's band as a bass player. She tells Vector that she'll come over to negotiate in person as she gets ready. She's ready for this change of pace in her life as everyone alludes to a moment, but no one wants to mention it. What's known is that this event involves Tails in some way.

DISCLAIMER: Marine, Cream and all other related characters and properties are owned and operated by SEGA Corporation and Sonic Team. This author makes no such claims and is not paid or compensated for the production of this fiction. Please do not flame.

(Chapter 2- Heartbreaker for Shore)

* * *

Here is one sight she probably will never be able to get over or pass off as irrelevant for as long as she lives. While being out on the ocean is a lifelong dream of hers, the reality of waking up, however early her officers may demand, and standing at attention with her fellow naval comrades to the rising of the sun doesn't diminish this breathtaking sight for any reason.

As the beginning of the day takes place right before her cerulean eyes, nineteen-year-old First Class Midshipman Marine the Raccoon could not believe how far she's come in just the last few years. At age fifteen, she was, for all intents and purposes, bound for the Royal Navy of Southern Island. Her name became public knowledge amongst the military for her advanced expertise in boats and ships at her young age.

She went through the numerous proper channels while in secondary school, including taking part in different ROTC units, military summer camps and at that time displaying leadership skills that most Midshipman don't develop until their third years in an academy.

The Navy taught her discipline far and beyond what she initially expected, but it had to be within her despite all of the work of her superior officers. She had to want her commanders and instructors to get into her face and challenge her or everyone would just be wasting their time and she would be shown to be nothing more than hype for all of her tireless efforts.

Looking back on that time, and continuing to eye the sun like a bonzer rack of ribs, training for the Navy was no sweat; figuratively, of course. She worked as hard as anyone who put on the uniform, but it was an even greater challenge for her given that she also had to deal with not one but several issues during her childhood and teen years.

In terms of health, she continues to have issues with ADHD and insomnia; a double whammy for her folks as she would often get only six hours of sleep a day, if that, and spend much of her days and nights building boats, ships and studying the naval sciences to prepare for the inevitable. All of it truly added up to being a labor of love for Marine.

Though people might consider her to be weird or strange for thinking it, she felt something warm in her heart whenever she could spend as much time out on the ocean or working on a new piece of machinery to traverse the seas as she possibly could. It was, and still is, a sense of peace that she never got while doing her regular schoolwork, hanging out with her now older clique of friends from the Coconut Crew, or the regular ebb and flow of her so-called life. The ocean is her second mother and it gave her a home where she wasn't different from anyone else or thought to be off her rocker because there are those who think she couldn't stay in one place at one time.

Marine chuckles as she ponders that last thought. 'It's true in more ways than one. Just ask Blaze back home for any proof about that.' She, unlike most of her female peers, never grew out of her tomboyishness. Marine never thought that growing out of it was needed for her to grow up, be a real woman or anything crazy of that sort. Even as a young adult, women could be adventurous and daring. She is, after all, in the military.

That has never been the problem for her as much as the stereotypes which have surrounded her since she was little. The down-under accent along with the go-getter attitude aside, she did begin to develop feelings she couldn't readily explain while she was in her preteen years. It's not that she disliked her male friends as much as she found the idea of romance to be for the birds. Her mind would flutter, however, whenever she came across a young girl (who she inoffensively refers to as 'sheilas') and her hormones would rage like a savage beast. It would be hard to keep those thoughts within forever and she didn't.

Around age thirteen, it hit her. She realized that there might be truth, however thinly laced, in those stereotypes because she was a blatant example of honesty in theory; Marine was honest and, put into practice, she couldn't deny it. She really liked girls and it was no phase that she'd get over or grow out of.

Despite her rendezvous with the same sex, she never really looked for love. When she experimented with fellow schoolmates and spent most of her days working on her ship, that time was for her and only her. Marine also believes that's where much of her selfishness came to being. The idea never crossed her mind because the raccoon never felt like she had time for love. If anything, building her boats and ships amounted to her first love; often times coming in between the same raccoons which gave her life.

Her folks could see the changes happen during the critical preteen and teen years. By age fifteen, Marine barely spent time at home and they would have had to be living under rocks to not hear about her inviting girls over late at night when no work was taking place whatsoever; on the ship's construction, at least.

They confronted Marine in her home away from home about her behavior and she kept quite the frank attitude. "Yes," she told her folks. "I do fancy doing the naughty with a sheila or two out on the shore. It's more calming than sneaking about at home." She wondered why it took them so long to figure this out and felt that that wasn't the case as much as they just didn't want to believe that it was true.

What really tugged at her tail, though, was how badly they took it. Her parents told her that she was an embarrassment to the family by sneaking about and being promiscuous with so many girls at such a young age. They called her sick and wrong for feeling how she did. Marine didn't get it, though. She was discrete and away from the public while she took care of her business, so what was the problem? "Why do you care if I'm being safe? It won't be long before I'm out on my own, so why not go out there and find out what I like now before I ship out in three years?"

Nothing was wrong with her, in Marine's mind. Her friends had no problem with it and that revelation opened a new can of worms. Her friends knew that she's gay before her folks did? It only made things worse. There's been a divide between them since she declared herself ready to go to the military, even though that was when she was twelve and really didn't know any better about what direction she was going.

It only served to make a bad relationship even more corrosive. Marine's parents were never completely sold on their daughter being in the Navy, but were willing to live with it if she was happy. Apparently, though, their hypocrisy shined like the morning sun, because upon learning about their daughter's homosexuality, they were nowhere near as supportive.

They asked her to take everything she valued out of their house and never come back until she 'changed her ways'. Then there was Marine the Raccoon; labeled as a lost cause in the mind of her folks, but she could care less given how they didn't even attempt to find common ground with her. Granted, she did spend about two or three nights crying, because that also meant she was forbidden from seeing her two younger siblings by order of her parents. Zeala, who should now be fifteen at this point, and Tasman, her only brother and the youngest of the siblings at age ten, had to unexpectedly say goodbye to Marine, but did so knowing that she'd soon be out there living her dreams.

If there was one thing she wanted her younger brother and sister to get from her sudden departure, it's that age shouldn't stop someone from pursuing what they want to do. Sure, she would've loved to mentor them and show them skills of ship building and preparation when they came of age, but fate did not offer her that opportunity. Instead, she got caught in a legal struggle for her independence, leaving her even more frustrated by her estranged mother and father than before being kicked out of their home.

Gaining independence from her folks gave her more than just added freedom and responsibility. She was now able to sign on her own behalf to join the Royal Navy. At age sixteen, no less, meaning she could begin training soon after her legal matters were cleared.

She did it and, for the most part, doesn't look back. She saw no reason to, after all. Marine can't come back 'home' without the police arresting her for trespassing.

All she can do is look forward and continue to work with her team on her sanctuary; the Southern Island Steam Ship (S.I.S.S.) Black Mountain. It's been her third month in a row out on the seas as the ship prepares to dock at the harbor of Central City for three weeks of activities (including fun) involving the Southern Island Navy during the period of Central City's Summer Festival.

While the vessel remains at the harbor for repairs and a refilling of supplies, Marine and her fellow Midshipman will enjoy the city and take part in official Naval activities before leaving and heading off to other paths by the end of the month.

"Company!" Marine hears her commander yell from the center of the ship's deck. "Salute!"

Raising her right hand along with her fellow officers lining the edge of the vessel, she salutes as the boat pulls into the harbor. They all hold this pose for about ten seconds before her commander yells, "Company…dismissed!"

The officers cease saluting and turn around in two single file lines walking towards stairs leading down to the berth. Marine marched down the port side of the ship while her fellow officers in front of her and behind her decided to play a little game.

"So what do you say, Ronny?" Asks Bianca the Koala to her shipmate Ronny the Kangaroo. "Do you have the over/under for the number of hearts Marine's gonna break in these three weeks?"

Marine, in between these two, knows they are teasing. So she doesn't get mad as much as she just chuckles before scolding them, exclaiming, "Oh, fucking bugger off, mates! I ain't that bad!"

"My arse you aren't that bad!" Ronny counters. "By the way, I'll say seven, Bianca, and go over. What about that young fox girl who tried to swim to Black Mountain in Station Square so she could have another go? I rest my case."

"Whatever, you mangy arse marsupials: Like you won't get your share of piece yourselves!" Marine responds while everyone walks to their bunks to pack their bags and move to the harbor barracks on land for their three-week trip.

* * *

A/N: So that's Marine's story. Pretty sad, all things considered, but she's not shedding any tears anymore. Coming up in the next chapter, we'll take a couple of detours. Where do they lead? Stay tuned and find out!

Until next time, this is Rave!


	3. Alone With My Thoughts

Sailor's Song

Marine and her fellow Midshipman dock on the harbor of Central City for three weeks of official duties and good times. Marine began her career in the Navy at age sixteen after gaining her independence from her folks who disapproved of her blatant homosexuality. She's since developed, amongst her fellow officers a reputation of breaking young girls' hearts and leaving them high and dry, not being one for love or romance in the traditional sense.

DISCLAIMER: Marine, Cream and all other related characters and properties are owned and operated by SEGA Corporation and Sonic Team. This author makes no such claims and is not paid or compensated for the production of this fiction. Please do not flame.

(Chapter 3- Alone With My Thoughts)

* * *

There are those places where we simply feel at home and free. Some find them on a baseball diamond, a football field or a basketball court while others search for their utopia in a good book, a relaxing stroll or spending time with their significant other.

Since he was only a few years old, Miles "Tails" Prower has known where his 'home' is. Whenever he can take any item or object apart, put it back together and have it working even better than before his hands were on it, he's at home. Tails, now age twenty, has used the last several days to reconnect with his work and tune up all of the planes in his garage.

The place is extensive and aside from the fact that it doubles as his airplane hangar and launch chute, he keeps the vehicles in museum quality when they don't run. What won't be found inside the shop are any grand amenities aside from a hammock off to the corner door. Next to the hammock is a large trash can loaded with containers that once held takeout meals lots of dust and a few cartons of cigarettes. This one private area of his garage leads to the main floor of his house, but it is here where he sleeps during marathon building sessions such as the one he's currently been on this week.

Work that would normally take him several weeks to complete due to his freelancing jobs only took Tails about five days in total. This included swapping out the engine from one of his Tornado-1 recreation models, refilling the fluids to all of his vehicles, cleaning the interior and exterior of the floors, and putting the finishing touches on a new land-based vehicle he's had in the works for the past year. Seeing how quickly he finished the project without any other factors keeping him from getting his hands dirty made him wonder how he ever got all of this necessary work done before now.

Not accepting any calls in about the past week has not been as detrimental to his business contacts as one would imagine. Tails wrote on his website and recorded on his voicemail that he would not be taking any new business until further notice. It wouldn't break the prodigious mechanic to take a break from his everyday living as he felt he was due from a vacation from everyday life. Sure, the two-tailed fox would think nothing of taking his plane out for a stroll across the major landmarks or go beyond his headquarters in the Mystic Ruins to take in some time at a resort destination, but despite this time off, Tails was not in a celebratory mood and hasn't been since devoting himself to his oft neglected machines.

Looking around the garage for something to do, Tails just can't find it. The place looks immaculate; like something an enthusiast would find in a magazine and no other vehicles require work that didn't get fixed earlier. He sighs before looking down at himself and noticing that his normally yellow-orange and white fur has been tainted by black and brown dust and grime coming from his different machines. His normally smooth and clean coat was now matted and wrinkled due to that and all the sweating he's done during this week.

"It seems like it's now me who's in need of a good cleaning," he says to himself before going back into his house, making a beeline for the second floor and undressing. Tails's shoes, gloves and shop apron are discarded into an empty hamper before he goes to his linen closet and picks up a towel. Before stepping into the tub, though, a memory starts to resurface in his head. This happened more than two years ago during Tails's eighteenth birthday. It was a truly unique day for him because while previous birthdays were spent with the guys, this one was mostly spent with someone he considered a truly special girl.

* * *

_FLASHBACK_

_Fumbling with the key for a few seconds, Tails can't get into the house right away, even though it's pouring down outside. _

"_Seriously, Tails! How long can it take?" _

_While still trying to find the hole, he finds enough time to crack a joke, saying "Don't tell me you're afraid of a little water, huh Cream?"_

_Shaking her head, she admits, "No, but the problem is we're not dealing with a _little_ water. We're dealing with a frickin' downpour and we need to get inside!"_

"_Well, that won't help much," he says in response to Cream's insistence that he get the key and get them inside his house. A few seconds later, he does just that and both of them enter the house. As Cream makes her way over to the couch, Tails turns on the light to the main room before shutting the front door and collapsing next to his girlfriend on the couch._

_Fifteen or so seconds of catching their breath and figuring out what to say or do next don't really add up to a hill of beans as the two, with Tails sitting upright on the left side of the couch and Cream laid across the other side, lean into one another and share a nice kiss on the lips. _

_Getting out of this welcome predicament, Tails explains, "You know, the rain kind of fouled up our day."_

"_True."_

"_But I want to thank you for a wonderful time in Carnival Nights today," he says to Cream. "Sometimes I forget how much fun we can have there for a whole day without any distractions, you know?"_

"_That's why I suggested it."_

"_And I'm glad." Repositioning himself in his seat, Tails truly notices just how wet he and Cream are from spending several minutes caught in the rain. "You know, as much as I like this…moment we're having right now, we're bound to catch pneumonia if we don't change out of these wet clothes."_

"_You're right," Cream says while getting up from her enviable position on the couch. Tails, admittedly, didn't have much clothing to remove as much as he needed to dry himself off because of the rain water. _

_Cream, on the other hand, had a t-shirt, black jean shorts, a pair of shoes and socks along with a hat that all got wet during the storm; not to mention her unmentionables. Getting up, Cream turns to Tails and asks "Is chivalry dead?"_

_He smiles a bit, allowing his cheeks to puff up with air. It's clear he's thinking about this, but the teen rabbit gets the sense that the genius is putting too much mind power into this exercise. He shakes his head, but answers, "Only on life support. Besides, you have more clothes on than I do. You know where everything is and if you need a robe, just check my closet. It's dark blue if you have trouble finding it and you can dry your clothes in my dryer. Mi casa es su casa, Cream."_

"_Thanks, Tails," she says before kissing him and remarking, "You're a real sweetheart." She then heads upstairs, walking briskly, and out of sight of Tails who leans back into his seat and contemplates the day. Though the rain put a damper on most plans, he couldn't imagine his eighteenth birthday going off as well as it did today, but he's so glad it did. 'I have Cream to thank for that,' Tails silently admits. He's happy and to remove the smile from his face might require the Jaws of Life. 'Man, I'm so thankful to have her as a girlfriend. She's…everything I could possibly ask for and more. Here's to many birthdays and good times like this one."_

_END FLASHBACK

* * *

_

Tails, during what was, admittedly, one of the high points of his adult life, could not fathom how much change would happen over the next two years. If that was a highlight, however, what's the explanation how things went to hell at the tail end of their relationship?

It all happened around graduation time for Cream when Tails made serious suggestions about taking his relationship with Cream to the next level. He never attempted to force himself upon his girlfriend or make flippant claims about how if she loved him, she'd do it, but Cream was not very responsive. In fact, she often went on the defensive with such matters worrying if the two of them were going too quickly.

She became distant as time went on, cancelling dates, not spending as much time with Tails and leaving him to wonder if something was wrong at home or elsewhere. Well, his suspicions were true, but the reason for Cream distancing herself from him could not have been more outlandish if he dreamed the scenario in his sleep.

With so much on his mind, he didn't even notice that he left the water running in the tub until just before it was about to overflow. Very quickly, he moved to turn off the faucet, let some water out of the tub and then finally stepped into the tub, leaning back to get as much of his body in there as he can.

Given that the events surrounding Cream's breakup haven't been less than two weeks ago, they unfortunately remain very fresh in Tails's head. He doesn't want that, especially given the bitterness he feels not only to Cream for her dishonesty but to himself for perhaps going too far given the situation involved.

Tails would rather not think of Cream right now. She only brings about bad memories for him, even though most of them between the fox and rabbit have been very good. He shakes his head causing the soapy water in the tub to naturally splash around and for some of it to hit his eyes, stinging them. Straining to get his towel and rub his eyes, he starts berating himself while his memories eat away at his guilty conscience.

"Goddamn it, Miles," he curses, "it's done. Nothing you can do about it anymore. She was asking for it even if she didn't want…no. No, it never was about me; it was about her. How the hell could it have been me? Even you admit it, Cream. I did every goddamn thing right in the book and it _still_ wasn't enough. You only really loved me like a brother. As if that isn't a big enough red flag given that this has gone on for two years too long with me being none the wiser. I never lied to you. I never lived a fucking lie like you did, Cream! It's your fault for dragging me into this mess! You've gotta live with it and I'll be damned if I have to take the blame for shit you couldn't handle on your own! Fuck you, Cream!"

He had to get it out of his system. Working on the machines was, more or less, an excuse. It was an excuse not to tear his house apart and rid every crevice of memories he had with Cream from his days of youth. Yes, building the equipment gave him a sense of calm, but the machines just couldn't talk back to him. No matter how effective the program, they were still controlled by him, his wishes and his desires for what he saw in a machine's capability.

That's what he loved about machines; they gave him a sense of control and power. Dealing with sentient beings meant that he didn't have the luxury of making sure they don't go about doing what they please. They couldn't. Dealing with real things gets made much more complicated this way and dealing with reality simply came with the territory.

His head in his hands, he again curses himself; this time, for even thinking about crying for his ex-girlfriend. Faint thoughts of a story from his youth about a young princess being brave and not crying come to mind, but Tails can never quite understand where these thoughts come from.

In the midst of his ranting where he goes from regretful soul caught in the crosshairs to angered fellow tossed out like yesterday's news, Tails hears his house phone ringing. It's a sound he doesn't hear that often in the house as most calls go to his cell. He waits for the rings to go to his answering machine. He hears his recorded voice asking callers to leave a message and then he hears it.

Amy is on the phone and is verbally giving Tails the business, using profanity he didn't even know existed. He's not surprised to hear this. After all, Amy is Cream's de facto older sister and will support her until the end of the world or whenever Sonic comes around, whichever comes first.

After carefully listening from a room away, Tails can hear Amy say, "You can't hide forever, you son of a bitch, so grow up and apologize," before slamming the phone down and ending the voicemail message.

Tails sighs, knowing that if he bothered to check his messages, turn on his cell phone or answer his door these past few days, he'd probably find even more words of wisdom from his friends to make things right with Cream. He needed some more time. He's still angry and doesn't know where to go from here without doing something else he might regret.

"I need a cigarette," Tails says as he gets out of the tub. Afterwards, he pulls the plug out, draining the water and proceeds to dry himself off and head to his bedroom to get a recently-opened pack of tobacco and a lighter to calm his nerves after hearing Amy's words.

They can be as hard to swallow as when he was a kid, but he's got to hold it together. After all, no one can tell him that what will go around won't come around; which is what happened to his ex.

Besides, who would take being taken advantage of lightly? Not him and certainly not now.

* * *

A/N: Wow, is Tails mad or what? Is it justified or what? Figure out as next chapter will have more of Cream's story as she plays for Mighty and the band.

Until next time, this is Rave!


	4. In Conclusions

Sailor's Song

Tails has spent almost the last week working on his machinery and cleaning out his garage; all in an attempt to keep his ex-girlfriend, Cream, off of his mind. It doesn't work, though, as memories of a great eighteenth birthday and how things fell so greatly for him and Cream cause Tails to wonder if he did the right thing. He uses karma as a reason for why Cream gets what he deserves and hears a loud, detracting voice from Amy before deciding that he needs to calm his nerves with a cigarette.

DISCLAIMER: Marine, Cream and all other related characters and properties are owned and operated by SEGA Corporation and Sonic Team. This author makes no such claims and is not paid or compensated for the production of this fiction. Please do not flame.

(Chapter 4- In Conclusions)

* * *

Her scooter didn't stand out as much with a speedster, a small bus painted in various colors, and what appears to be a unicycle with a propeller wing on top parked by the living and business quarters of the Chaotix Detective Agency.

Cream always loved coming here. No matter what the situation for her crocodile, chameleon and bee friends, they remained the same. Business for the detective trio has been coming along nicely allowing them to make an addition to their home and even hire a couple of part time employees to handle requests, which have, naturally, come in at a greater volume than when Cream was little.

There is even a second entrance for friends and family of the Chaotix. It all adds up to Cream being in good company as she has this tryout with Mighty the Armadillo. Knocking on the door, she only has to wait for ten seconds at the most before the front door is opened and Cream gets greeted by the charming smile of her similarly-aged peer, Charmy.

"Cream! You're here!" he exclaims.

"But, of course, Charmy."

"Come on in," Charmy says to Cream. She does so and the teen bee shuts the door behind him. Buzzing over to the bedroom hallway, he calls out to Mighty and tells him that Cream has arrived. He sounds back that he'll be ready in a few minutes and that leaves the two young adults some time to themselves. Cream takes a seat on the L-shaped couch wrapped around the wall of the Chaotix house while Charmy sits by her.

He can notice faces about as well as his detective counterparts. "You know, based on what's happened the past week with you, Cream, I can come up with two conclusions."

Cream can never accurately predict Charmy, even after knowing him for nearly a decade and a half. "And those conclusions would be?"

"One, you look like a girl who could use a beer."

Well, there's at least one thing about Charmy that the rabbit girl could count on. Even at age eighteen, he's full of a lot of laughs. Both of them are at the legal drinking age and have had their share of drinks from the mixed variety to hard and everything in between, so this would be far from a virgin drink for the rabbit. "We'll talk about it."

"Shit, we don't need to talk about it when the fridge is full right now."

"All right, then," Cream replies. "After my tryout with Mighty, Ray and the band, I'll have a beer with you, but just _one_. I have to drive and…make another stop. Agreed?"

Placing his right index and middle finger by his forehead, in the form of a salute, Charmy says, "No problem," before heading to the kitchen to get himself a can of lager.

Coming back to sit on the couch, Charmy buzzes in the air for a bit before giving Cream a hug, much to her pleasant surprise. "Wow! What's this for, Charmy?"

"My second conclusion," he says while still holding onto Cream. "You're a friend in need and I'm a friend, indeed."

He'll always be a sweet guy, from top to bottom. That's Charmy in the eyes of Cream and if she has it her way, he'll never change that part of his life. He lets go of the hug and gets a fine compliment. "Thank you, Charmy. You know, in another lifetime, incarnation or whatever," Cream admits, "I'd consider that a pass and I'd give it a lot of thought, but…"

"Hey, I don't begrudge you for this and neither will any of your real friends," Charmy admits. "It's your life, but unfortunately it wasn't your decision."

"You're right. I don't want anyone to treat me differently because of this and, for the most part, this has been the case. But even though I shouldn't feel like this, I hate Tails. If he didn't lock himself in his house doing whatever, I'd want to strangle him, even though Amy and Sonic have said the same thing in recent days."

"Well, even though it's been almost a week since Sonic last talked to me, he did say that Tails hasn't been answering any phone calls he's been getting, right?"

"Yeah, it did get to the point where he asked the police to check up on Tails just to make sure he didn't do anything stupid, and he's just been working in his garage all week."

"I can believe that," Charmy admits. "Whenever Tails has a lot on his mind or is in an emotional ride, he'll wrap himself up in his projects until he figures out an adequate solution to his issues. Honestly, I think Tails is feeling bad about what he did, but his pride is getting in the way of him doing the right thing right now."

"Maybe that's the case, and a part of me wants to forgive him, right after I give him a piece of my mind. Nevertheless, here's my question if you're walking in Tails's shoes. How the hell can you explain the real rifts you've caused between close friends of mine?"

"That's for Tails to explain and, if he's truly sorry, for you to find out." Charmy finally spots, coming down the hallway, Ray the Flying Squirrel and Mighty the Armadillo. Mighty has his guitar, a black and silver Fender Stratocaster, and Ray is carrying the amplifier right behind his band mate. "It's time for your tryout, Cream. Good luck. I'll be rooting for you on the sidelines." Cream thanks her insect friend as she brings out her instrument case.

As the golden squirrel makes his way into the living room, he remarks, "All right. Let's get this show on the road." Going over to Cream, Ray introduces himself and says, "I apologize for the wait. Vector said he thought you might come later this afternoon, but we can certainly do this right now."

"Yeah, chalk that one up on a lack of communication on my part," Mighty admits. "I was settling in for some gaming with Espio and crew, but you came around and that showed a lot of determination on your part to do this and make an impact. I respect that—Cream, is it?"

"Yes, sir."

"Please, just call me Mighty," he implores.

"And me, Ray. No need for formalities if we're gonna perform in gigs for the next few weeks."

"That leads me to what you can bring for us." Mighty takes a seat across from Cream. "First off, I want to know what you're musical credentials."

"Oh, of course!" Cream exclaims, caught slightly off guard, but nowhere near flustered given that Mighty would actually interview her instead of just having her play some riffs. "I actually began on the piano. Vector taught me how to play it when I was seven. Then, at age nine, I saw the guitar and fell in love with the instrument in all of its forms. I initially learned the acoustic guitar, but turned most of my attention to electric and then the bass guitar, learning how to play that by age twelve. Since then, I've done a lot of work for support bands and school bands. I've also won Station Square and Central City competitions in the past, using my guitar and my bass, and I went on to intern for the Sonic Underground band at age fourteen."

Mighty didn't expect to hear that from someone so young. "Whoa, really? You interned for Sonic's siblings, Sonia and Manic?" Cream nods and Mighty appears to be very impressed. "Man, usually they'll have much older interns for their group. And you're only…"

"I'm eighteen; the same age as Charmy."

"Okay, so there'll be no issue going to bars and other venues where they serve alcohol. Vector did tell me that you were young but qualified and have much of our music, but I know you didn't come to talk, right?"

"Right, I came to play."

"So what are you playing with, Cream?"

"A Gibson EB-3."

Ray whistles and then says "Awesome instrument," while Cream sets up her bass and amplifier to get ready to play.

"Indeed," adds Mighty while he tunes his instrument and she does the same. Cream tests her volume levels and tunes her strings to get the adequate sound. This process only takes about half a minute and she is ready to go along with Mighty.

"Now, Cream. Vector says you know our music, so…what I want you to do is lead in with a bass line of our song 'Lackey' and I'll join in with guitar. You familiar with that?"

"Yeah, it has a higher bass line and is mostly done with eighth notes on the E and A strings."

"Right!" Mighty says and he really gets the impression that Cream is on her game. They start playing the instrumental and the song represents someone who's been a part of the pack for a while, but has ambitions of breaking out of their shell and making a name for themselves without the help of their friends. It's intentionally designed to represent everyone who has a feeling or desire to escape.

The uses of higher notes on the bass combined with lower notes on the more dominating guitar are specifically designed to represent optimism and confidence shining in on the inside while the opposite in depression, feelings of hopelessness and constriction show up the most on the outside and are what people recognize first.

Since creating the band, Mighty has used it to be a positive influence. He does this while remaining on the cutting edge and performing to a higher demographic. Seeing a young prodigy in Cream keep up with him as he slyly increased and decreased the tempo of his riffs without warning was quite refreshing to see.

He saw no wasted motion out of her with the only exception being her looking over to him in a silent inquiry of what he was doing only to be greeted with an elfish smirk and added attention to his guitar. Cream got the idea and did the same with a single bead of sweat coming down her fur. It was very clear for her; she was going to have to work hard to earn this gig.

As they switched to a more jazzy touch, Mighty and Ray continue to test Cream by using different pacing in her notes and at every turn, the rabbit was able to catch up with the armadillo.

The tryout lasts about another twenty minutes, with Ray bringing in his drum set attracting Vector and the rest of the Chaotix to the living room to watch everyone in action. Mighty started singing a bit to his music and the room ended up becoming a full jam session from interview to instruments in less than half an hour.

By the end of the playing all the members of the Chaotix clapped their hands in approval with Espio shaking Cream's hand and Charmy giving his good friend a pat on the back.

"That was incredible, Cream!" Vector congratulates.

"Yeah! You rock, girl!" Charmy adds.

"It certainly got me out of my seat…and I liked it," Espio speaks. Though not a great fan of rock, he can recognize good music when he hears it and this was certainly no exception.

"They're right," Mighty has to admit while putting his guitar down on the couch. "I had to admit, though, I had my doubts about you, Cream. Let's be honest, you _are_ very young, but age is still just a number. If you have the talent and it's flowing through you, people will see it. I sure as heck saw it here. So, what's your decision, Ray?"

"I gotta say yes to that one. She'll be a hit at our upcoming gigs."

"Then it's settled." Walking over to the girl, Mighty aims to make it official. Bringing out his right hand, he says, "Cream the Rabbit, we're willing to welcome you into our group, The Green Spades and…how does a twenty-five percent cut of our profits sound to you?"

This is what she wanted. Cream didn't want to be shortchanged at all when taking part in a band and she wanted to have a fine summer experience before heading off to college. Mighty is giving her that chance right now, and she couldn't be more happy to be able to keep busy this season.

Shaking Mighty's hand, she asks, "Where do I sign?"

"Right this way," he answers. "We can talk about all the details at the kitchen table and sign your contract."

* * *

A/N: I planned on releasing this yesterday, but circumstances would not allow that to happen. It's here now, though! Hope you enjoy it.

Next chapter will have the debut of several key characters in the 'Sonic' world as they try to get into the head of their good friend and bring him to his senses.

Until next time, this is Rave!


	5. Rolling Stone's Standstill

Sailor's Song

Cream goes to the Chaotix Detective Agency for her tryout with Mighty's band, The Green Spades. Before the tryout, Charmy offers her a beer and a hug, claiming she needs it. She does not reject the offer, rather saving it for later. Mighty, at lead guitar and vocals, along with Ray, on the drums, interview Cream then play with her over the course of half an hour. They all come away impressed, including the small audience of the main Chaotix members. Cream is convinced to sign after Mighty suggests one-fourth of the band's profits.

PLEASE READ: After much thought and a review, I've decided to split what was chapter five of Sailor's Song into chapter five and six. The first scene is the new fifth chapter and the second scene is the sixth chapter. If you've already read chapter five on its initial release, this chapter contains no new material. You may disregard it until chapter seven. I apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused, but for proper formatting and structure, I am doing this.

DISCLAIMER: Marine, Cream and all other related characters and properties are owned and operated by SEGA Corporation and Sonic Team. This author makes no such claims and is not paid or compensated for the production of this fiction. Please do not flame.

(Chapter 5- Rolling Stone's Standstill)

* * *

Settled into her bedroom in the female division of the barracks, Marine shares her experiences of the last few months before going out for a run with her fellow Mids. The sun has not yet risen to start the day, but given her oft inability to fall soundly asleep without aggravation, she's been up and ready for about the last two hours, spending about thirty minutes of that time speaking with her closest friend back home on the phone.

"We're gonna be doing a bit of charity work this weekend before we perform the lot of our official duties, mate," Marine eagerly speaks to the girl on the other line. "I think it's a kid's weekend coming up, but I'll have to check my itinerary again. Members of the military will be there, obviously, including GUN agents and many others to speak with the kids. It's some of the most ripper madness you could possibly get out of me, but you have to expect it when it's me and young kids involved."

"I don't know why, Marine, but these last three years have been an interesting blend for you from where I sit," says the anthropomorphic cat on the other end. Blaze, tending to many royal duties and responsibilities while in her homeland, doesn't get the time to speak with others unless it's in a professional setting. Often, she's given an escape from her everyday hustle and bustle from a girl who does enough living for a submarine crew.

It's at this time, when even she admits that she should be in bed, where she gets most of her juicy tidbits of military life that very few other know about. "You're a self-professed hardcore lesbian in a world where machismo and curt ideas of manliness rule. You claim that you'll never fall in love and you have an indelible reputation of breaking girl's hearts abroad."

"Look I'm no galah, mate," Marine replies. "If the seas were the only place I found true love, then I'll continue to give back to them and be faithful to only them, no questions asked. Now get to your point before I have to give you the flick, sweetheart."

It's hard from Blaze's perspective to get angry at Marine for any reason. Giving her a point of contact to the outside world should merit such emotions given that no one else can go on about their daily life as much as Marine can. The tone of those last remarks weren't in anger as much as they were in jest and to get a humorous rise out of the violet cat. It is working as Blaze heartily explains, "You know, for someone who doesn't want them, you're just so damn good with kids. I…I just don't expect that from such a hardcore dyke in uniform, you know?"

"Come on, mate," speaks the raccoon. "Don't tell me that you're gobsmacked by that. If you don't know that by know, you haven't been paying attention. But maybe it's what you've thought of me for a long time. At heart I'm just like youth, and that's the way I'll be for much of our lives. So, naturally, I'm gonna connect well with the real thing. Plus…the whole deal with my rellies has ultimately convinced me that a child, no matter the situation, is worthy of nothing but love."

"For that, you're better than most," Blaze admits. True, she does give her friend, seven years her junior, the benefit of the doubt a lot given that her heart is always in the right place. Combining her powers ranging from the unique ability to use hydrokinetics in the same way Blaze controls fire to her simple yet powerful means of putting a smile on the face of kids, young and old means that she isn't as self-centered as many would assume.

In many respects, it's hard for most everyone to hate Marine, even if she does have a tendency to be abrasive and use her fellow partners apathetically. It's not without warning, though, and she does her best to explain that she only seeks out sex and not love. Blaze feels that her friend could do so much better and often brings this up in their conversations. "I think you'd be a great mother—to an adoptive child. Not now, obviously, but down the line! I could see it! Think about it; you as a family woman? You might laugh at me, but you'd be great, but you're content with just being a rolling stone. At some point, something's just gotta stop all of us, including you!"

"Blaze," Marine relents, getting a little annoyed having to hear a conversation along these lines once more.

"Seriously, I mean it!" interrupts the cat before her Southern Island friend jumps to conclusions. "I wouldn't say this if I didn't care, Marine. I mean…I know you're having fun and there's nothing wrong with that on the surface. It's just that at some point, the party has to end. Where do you go from there? You get to be the age of, say, the president and are still going about your ways after thirty-five or so years then it's not a pretty sight to see a fifty-something root rat. I know you don't like being called a whore, but an old whore? Who wants that…especially when it's true?"

If only Blaze could see through the phone. Pictures are worth more than a thousand words and Marine was hesitant to keep up appearances over the phone while still trying to figure out what to say in response to her good friend. Blaze was right, but Marine's pride wouldn't get that out of her, even at gunpoint.

"Marine, shake your tail if we're going running now or miss out!" calls one of her bedmates. Dana, a black and brown aboriginal echidna one year her senior, taps Marine on the shoulder before exiting the room in her Navy sweats.

"One second, sheila!" she calls out while getting out of her seat on the bed. "Blaze, I'd love to yabber some more, but we've got some running to do."

"Okay, then," Blaze says quickly, not knowing when the mid will hang up her phone. She immediately adds, "Think about what I said, Marine. You know in your heart that it's the truth."

"Whatever the hell you say, sweetheart. 'Til whenever," are the last words that come from Marine's end before shutting her phone and running out of her room in the ladies' barracks to catch up with her roomies, Bianca, Dana, Ronny and Tracey, an albino sugar glider wearing thick glasses. All four lady Mids head out for an early morning run of about ten kilometers.

Blaze knows all about this because of how much of an open book Marine is, especially when she's on a roll. Depending on when or if she stops, however, is a different story. Blaze just hopes that, for her friend's sake, it's not sudden.

Halting her life at a standstill is just not something she can see Marine doing for any reason.

* * *

A/N: Again, this is chapter five, and what was the second scene of the original chapter is number six. I apologize for any confusion this might have brought on, but doing this after seeing the initial review made me realize that this is still two stories. This won't be a problem for much longer, I guarantee you, and the next update will arrive in a few days.

Until next time, this is Rave!


	6. Ask the Dyke

Sailor's Song

Marine talks to Blaze whenever she's out to sea. Blaze considers Marine a friend, but is very concerned for her. Given how good she is with kids, she figures Marine would be a great family woman and could settle down, but Marine dismisses it. She has charity work to do this afternoon and a run to do with her fellow Mids this morning, so she ends her call with Blaze early.

PLEASE READ: After much thought and a review, I've decided to split what was chapter five of Sailor's Song into chapter five and six. The first scene is the new fifth chapter and the second scene is the sixth chapter. If you've already read chapter five on its initial release, this chapter contains no new material. You may disregard it until chapter seven. I apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused, but for proper formatting and structure, I am doing this.

DISCLAIMER: Marine, Cream and all other related characters and properties are owned and operated by SEGA Corporation and Sonic Team. This author makes no such claims and is not paid or compensated for the production of this fiction. Please do not flame.

(Chapter 6- Ask the Dyke)

* * *

While on the phone, which has become a common activity for him in recent days, Sonic the Hedgehog speaks to his good friend Knuckles while waiting for someone else to stop by his house. This whole week, it's been nothing but phone calls from his great circle of friends who haven't been able to get in touch with Tails after his announced breakup with Cream. Sonic has gotten tired of all of the questions thrown his direction that he can't answer and feels it's time to take greater action.

"We're all his friends, I know," he speaks while hearing the red echidna on the other line talk about being confrontational with Tails, but still enforcing their friendship. As Sonic digests this, he hears a knock on the phone and knows that his expected company arrived a few minutes early. "Yeah, come whenever you can, Knuckles. I've got company here and we're gonna talk some more about this so I'll catch you later. All right…bye."

Hanging up the phone, he unlocks and opens the door to find Amy Rose on the other side. Nodding his head, he tells her to come on in. She does so and Sonic is more than a little surprised that Amy just entered without a word and went into the den with the blue hedgehog.

She looks Sonic into the eye. Her demeanor can best be described as 'Don't Tread on Me', and her mannerisms seem to ebb a sense of going into battle. "I hope you're planning on giving Tails a piece of your mind soon."

He expected to hear that from Amy for different reasons. "Well, I do want to see him or talk to him either today or tomorrow, but he still hasn't answered his phone."

Amy appears flabbergasted as she hears this coming out of his mouth. "What—what the fuck does it matter, Sonic? He hasn't answered his phone." Amy rolls her eyes at the fact that not even his best friend can get through to Tails. "Clearly he doesn't want to speak to us, so we have to speak to him, whether he likes it or not. I warned him yesterday, that's he's not gonna hide from his bullshit any longer. Well, he won't hide unless he wants a dent in his fucking head."

"Amy, come on!" Sonic pleads with her. "You don't need to make threats to get through to people."

"No. Your way hasn't worked, so I feel it's time for an important change," Amy refutes. "This belly rubbing out of you and you giving Tails the benefit of the doubt is getting on my fucking nerves, and if _you _won't stop it, then I will." Walking up to Sonic, she puts her finger into his face and defends her friend. "Look, if the only time we've heard from Tails was the e-mail and if Cream doesn't argue with the message but the method behind it, then what reason does Cream have to lie about this?"

Amy's voice rises as she continues. "She admits it, but Tails pigeonholed her into telling the truth, but she doesn't lie. She does not lie, he exploited that, and you give him a fucking pass by making a half-ass excuse talking about, 'Oh…I can't reach him. He won't talk to me.' Bullshit! You can talk to him if you want, but I'd rather take action when it comes to my real friends."

Sonic is already starting to get pissed off. The two of them have been at odds with the problems surrounding their best friends "Look, Amy. First off, get your finger out of my face…now. I mean it or I'll throw you out." Pulling back for a second, Amy decides to remain calm and pulls back her finger before things escalate between the two.

Attempting to avert disaster, Sonic speaks slowly and logically these words. "Now let's be real here. Tails is a great friend to both of us…who made a terrible mistake. As much as we love our friends but hate how things have turned out for them…_all_ we can give them, especially Tails, is the benefit of the doubt."

Shaking her head, Amy has a different opinion about that statement. "I just think…we've—I've heard enough from Tails, Sonic! Cream is not my best friend as much as she's my little sister—for thirteen fucking years. You know how it feels…"

"Damn right, I do."

"So, yeah, I was a bit miffed that she was too scared to tell me about this. I knew that she and Tails were growing apart the last few months of their relationship, but I never thought this was the reason why. Tails did something to Cream more than just sending an e-mail to friends telling them that she's…"

"What?"

"Well, why don't I let Tails tell you all about it? I'm sure this will sound familiar," Amy speaks as she takes a folded piece of paper from her pocket much to the chagrin of Sonic.

"Goddamn it, Amy. Why do you carry that e-mail around?"

"When I see Tails, I'm throwing his words back into his fucking face if he doesn't want to apologize."

"I really don't see the point of this. Seriously, Amy. What's done is done. Cream is taking the high road on all this the most part. Why can't you?"

"You'll see where I'm coming from in just a moment, so listen up!" As Amy looks at the top of the paper, she reads beginning with the salutation. "Dear Friends and Loved Ones,

"This is Tails here. I know that since I've come of age, there's been a lot of suggestion about me getting together with Cream. We've been age old friends and I'm sure you all might have seen it back then as harmless puppy love. Well, as you all know, when I turned seventeen, I thought about it seriously and decided to say yes, and so did she.

"I don't know what many people thought about us being together and, quite frankly, I didn't care. I've had a great deal of fun being with her and she admits that I've been a great boyfriend. I think that's more than enough approval that I need on my end."

"Amy, enough!"

Ignoring Sonic, she continues, "Unfortunately, I must say with a heavy heart that my romantic relationship with Cream is over as of today. The reasons for that may float in your head for a while, so I want to end any and all speculation with this e-mail.

"Let me be very clear when I say this;" and before getting back to her reading, Amy makes sure to read this part while looking right into Sonic's eyes. "Cream the Rabbit is a fraud. She lied to me THROUGHOUT our relationship, but also lied to each and every one of you. When put into a corner, you find how much of a lying, manipulative scumbag she really is and how you should not trust Cream or you will find yourself heartbroken.

"Your heart will break much like mine when you hear the truth about Cream and how we grew apart. I wanted to know why she was so distant and why our once budding romance appeared to hit a brick wall. I found out as she tearfully broke down and told me everything this morning.

"Cream NEVER loved me. She felt pressured to be with me. Pressure from family and friends; pressure she could've spared if she were honest and knew the power of saying no or if she knew what the hell honesty even meant.

"But, alas, I got to see the real Cream today. The one she's afraid of telling her flop-eared madam of a mother or her de facto, Sonic-obsessed sister about is here, so get used to it if she's gonna come to you to do damage control really soon. Get ready to hear about her being the same old Cream no matter what, if that's even worth her weight in scraps.

"My advice is don't buy into it and don't fall for her tricks. This is for your own good whoever may read this letter.

"If you're confused at all by what I'm saying, don't be.

"Just ask the dyke."

Sonic has to cringe as he hears that letter orated by Amy and listens while the pink hedgehog grates her teeth going through the arguably libelous words written by Tails after his breakup.

She slowly read as Tails thoughtfully put together these hateful words to make Cream out to be a total monster and she knows it all to be a lie. If anything, Tails is the monster for not respecting another individual's business and putting power into his hands where it clearly did not belong. Amy looks over at Sonic again and can tell he's squirming.

It's difficult to defend a best friend when he does not deny what he's written down and sent out to his large circle of friends. 'God, Tails,' he thinks, trying to save face in front of Amy. 'Why did you have to make this so hard?'

While he ponders what to do or say next, Amy shakes his thoughts by asking, "Well? What are your thoughts? Tails—your best friend, went out of his way to make sure everyone had this…this filth. What do you have to say now that it's…fresh in your head again?"

"I'm really sorry if this doesn't seem like the right answer, Amy," Sonic begins, "but I just have to hear from Tails again."

"Are you kidding me, Sonic?"

"Listen! This was right after the breakup! He's had time to think about it. I'm sure he regrets doing that."

"If he regrets it so much, why hasn't Cream gotten so much as a fucking voicemail from him since this happened?" Amy intended that question to be rhetorical even though Sonic opened his mouth to answer. "I'll tell you why! He doesn't regret it!"

"Amy, you never thought to…"

"Forget it!" Amy yells. "I knew you'd just stick up for that prick. It's been like that since before I came along and even…"

"For the last goddamn time!" Sonic screams back if only to get Amy to stop talking so she can listen. "What Tails did was _very_ _wrong_, but you make Cream out to be this angel, Amy. Is that right? Is that even remotely true when she's apparently had feelings like this since her early teen years and never even let on about this as—oh, I don't know—a warning to Tails that he might be treading on no man's land? And seriously, I don't like how he handled it and it sure as hell wasn't his decision, Amy, but Cream lied to Tails…from day _one_. Fine start to a relationship, huh? It's interesting how you will accuse me of sticking up for Tails, but you sweep that minute detail under the rug."

"Oh, bullshit!"

"But is it really? I'm just saying; two wrongs still don't make a right. We've heard from Cream this entire time, and now I wanna hear from Tails…again. Is that so much to ask?"

Amy, perturbed by Sonic's rational thought, turns her body in the opposite direction and does an about face while crossing her arms and raising her head up in defiance of Sonic's suggestion and theory.

Yes, she does have a tendency to look at this through rose-colored sunglasses, no pun intended. Amy just has that kind of bond with Cream that can't be broken so easily with a revelation like this. Her friend, her sister, whom she's known since she was little and innocent, lost it all a long time ago, and it's taken Amy a while to realize this. She's been Cream's shoulder to cry on the past week so she's heard nothing else but her story and the now infamous e-mail.

It wouldn't kill her to hear some more. Without turning around to face Sonic, she gives in, saying, "Gather up everyone…we'll talk to Tails…as friends."

Sonic smiles though Amy, obviously, can't see it. "That's all I want," he admits. "We all should just…put our differences aside and get some answers…without violence entering the equation. Is that fair?"

"No," she answers. Sonic wants to object to this, but doesn't get the chance.

Turning around, she admits, "It isn't fair. Life isn't fair, Sonic. If it were, Cream would have been in control of her outing, but…it's not. It's only right."

* * *

A/N: Again, this is chapter six, and what was the first scene of the original chapter is number five. I apologize for any confusion this might have brought on, but doing this after seeing the initial review made me realize that this is still two stories. This won't be a problem for much longer, I guarantee you and the next update will be coming in a couple of days.

Until next time, this is Rave!


	7. Sour Cream

Sailor's Song

Amy goes over to Sonic's place to speak of a possible intervention with Tails, Knuckles and others. Amy and Sonic are alone, stubborn and both of them are sticking up for their best friends in a way. Sonic wants to hear more from Tails about his breakup with Cream because their relationship was based upon lies and Amy wants more out of Tails because he wrote in an e-mail that the breakup centered around Cream's homosexuality. This e-mail from Tails outed Cream. Both agree to at least hear Tails out because it's the right thing to do.

DISCLAIMER: Marine, Cream and all other related characters and properties are owned and operated by SEGA Corporation and Sonic Team. This author makes no such claims and is not paid or compensated for the production of this fiction. Please do not flame.

(Chapter 7- Sour Cream)

* * *

It doesn't take long to know where her heart is right now as she looks over several pages of sheet music while she tunes her bass guitar. To be honest, Cream's heart, even though she dated Tails for more than two years and enjoyed herself, has been with her music since her teen years.

Cream got ten sheets of music from Mighty and Ray for rehearsal tomorrow evening in preparation for their first gig at the Central Watering Hole. It's at rehearsal where they'll be joined by keyboarder for the Green Spades and Ray's twin brother, Roy, who handles most of the bookings for the band and spent Cream's audition confirming most of their Greater Central City dates leading up to the July musical festival.

The riffs aren't that difficult for her, given her expertise, but she would rather practice beforehand in order to impress Mighty and the boys than stumble at the starting blocks having them question her ability. She goes through each riff about four times and after nearly two hours practicing in her room, she just holds the bass in her hands for a few minutes with her eyes closed and her thoughts focused as she meditates.

"_You know, I'm really beginning to get pissed off about this," Cream hears from inside her head. _

The memories don't want to leave despite her thinking beyond Tails at this point. Cream is confident and is quite strong despite her age and perceived weakness, especially in comparison to her friends. She just feels a need to have a handle on her environment in order to get the most out of it. Not having one's eye on matters will cause a great deal of trouble for her and those around her.

"_First you cancel a date, then you no-show, then you call saying that you aren't feeling better, yet Sonic saw you around town that very night. Why? What were you doing then that you couldn't do with me?"_

Life has a funny way of helping out those who don't think they need it. Not even ten days ago, the bass-playing rabbit was content with what came her way. Cream knew she couldn't hold onto the pseudo-feelings she had for Tails forever and she never had an intention to try. She knew that around the time of graduation, she'd have to give up the charade. Cream was very surprised Tails held his temperament for as long as he did but knew that when pushed, he'd crack under pressure like most would.

"_You…you little bitch! I can't believe this! This entire time, you've just been playing me for a fool because I was a good enough friend for an experiment whenever you were ready to actually be honest?"_

She freely admits that she is not 100 percent innocent in this matter. Cream likes to position her role in the breakup as being the lesser of two evils, but that still leaves her in an unenviable category of deceit including acts of betrayal, exploitation, pandering to pressure and a blatant lack of trust. She cheated on Tails, as well. No, she had no full-fledged affairs and, by definition, remains a virgin. Cream did, however, take her occasional bite of forbidden fruit with dancers and club-goers over the years with none being the wiser.

"_You fucking piece of shit! How could you? Seriously? What were you on when you thought this was a good idea? You may not have loved me, but I had feelings for you. Now you're here and telling me that none of it matters? What will your friends think—hell—what will your _mother _think when she hears this?"_

It's activity that she admitted to Tails with very little in the way of tears or ill emotions flowing from her. It wasn't so much dread coming out of her when she admitted that she's attracted to girls, rather a feeling of relief. She and Tails could go about their lives with as little heartache as possible and Cream could go through the delicate process of explaining just why she's no longer with Tails.

"_You're not gonna tell her?" that voice in her head goes again. "You don't know how your mother will react and that's why you hid this from her? That her innocent little daughter is a fucking queer? Not that there's anything wrong with it…unless you're using people for your own benefit. Perhaps I should give you a little help if you're not gonna say anything."_

That last sentence takes the cake for Cream and has left her a little sick looking back on matters. Her prized control of matters got taken out of her hands when the fox made the decision that Cream had been hiding behind her own protective veil for too long and needed to be seen for what she was. For some reason, that meant exposing her darkest secret, causing her to be naked amongst her crowd of friends and family. Tails had every reason to make her feel what he felt in terms of betrayal and he did his best to make it play out in favor of him, having Cream look like a real fool for lying.

"_Yeah, go ahead and run, you pig!" Tails screams while Cream tearfully runs out of her ex's home. "Try convincing your friends that you aren't full of it when they read the truth!"_

That strategy, more or less, backfired for good reason. Tails could not fathom the grand amount of support Cream's friends would have for her even if she loved differently. They knew that these were the actions of a lover scorned and didn't hate Tails for it as much as they saw it as a big, emotionally driven foul-up. When Tails found more slanted stares in his direction than hugs of support, he climbed back into his hole where no one could criticize him for his actions. This is the hole he's stayed in for almost a week.

Indeed, it has not been the best of weeks for Cream the Rabbit. From a declining romantic relationship with a friend who was nothing more than a friend to titillating details, however true they may be, spread about her through cyberspace, she's at a personal low. She doesn't even want to get into all of the messages on her social networking sites where certain 'friends' have dropped her quicker than a hot potato and slammed her harder than a pro wrestler because of this revelation. Some of them, who mistook her wholesome image and family-friendly music to be an authentic representation of her, or a message from the high places, got thrown for a tailspin by the news. It didn't matter. It would've happened anyway, but Cream didn't want it to go by in this fashion.

So Cream plays her bass to remember simpler times when matters of love did not cloud her vision and make her forget what's most important in life, such as her music. She'd reminisce and play tunes about her family and how her mother would throw picnics for all her friends, including the Chaotix. While it's difficult to craft those thoughts with a bass guitar, it didn't matter to her. She'd only later find that Vector had ulterior motives for attending every picnic Vanilla had, especially in recent years, but Cream didn't mind it because it was Vector, who'd never hurt either mother or daughter.

She wishes she could say the same for her relationships—why is she doing this? Clearly, playing the guitar isn't working like she thought it would, so Cream unplugs the instrument from its amplifier and puts it to the side. Looking around the room for something to get her mind off of the two-tailed fox and how badly she betrayed his trust.

The pictures always give her a nice escape and looking at them often gives her good memories. Heading over to her desk, Cream can immediately find herself in framed pictures with Sonic and his siblings Sonia and Manic the Hedgehog, the original Sonic Underground band. Aside from those there are photos of her playing bass for her secondary school's jazz ensemble, winning a talent show in Station Square, and learning how to play the piano with Vector when she was much younger.

'Damn it, why does the past keep this to me?' she thinks. "They lied. Good old days, my foot. I need to put this nonsense behind me." Another thought just came to mind concerning her best friend beyond Amy, and it brought her to her pet chao, Cheese. The young fellow, spritely as he was, could not shake the fact that something was very wrong with his brother, Chocola. Going to the chao garden over a decade ago, he found no sign of his brown chao counterpart.

Hearing from various sources, he learned that Chocola apparently disappeared. Cheese made it his mission to find his brother and told Cream that he'll come back when he finds him. He wouldn't explain the reasons why but he said that it was a serious matter that could delve into great chaos if not properly handled. Cream wanted to give Cheese some help but he declined saying that there's no more time to waste and left after a strong hug from Cream.

It's been more than ten years. Cream hasn't seen Cheese. While she found it difficult to let go initially, she thinks about him on occasion now, only hoping that nothing bad happened to her chao and his brother. "But it's been more than ten years," she figures. Shaking her head, Cream curses herself for punishing her psyche like this.

Deciding that her room gives her too many memories, Cream leaves it to go to her mother's room. Before she can get to the partially-opened door, she hears crying from the other room. Looking into the crack left behind by Vanilla, she sees it. Cream's mother is actually sobbing while looking at what appears to be a photo.

For about half a minute, Vanilla just cries and Cream wants to go in there and figure out what it is without eavesdropping, but she just wants to see what's wrong with her. "Oh my dear," Vanilla says in between her sobbing. "My dear Cane. I really wish you were here right now." Cream gasps before covering her mouth in shock. Vanilla is talking about her late husband and Cream's father, Cane. "Our daughter has…not been doing the right thing." Her fears were realized. Vanilla was crying over Cream. "She broke up with her first boyfriend, because…oh, god. I can't even believe it. She's…she's a lesbian and she's been…doing things to girls that I really don't like."

This made Cream nearly slip her grip on the wall's edge. Where were the supportive words when Tails sent the e-mail about Cream and when she had no choice but to explain her actions? What happened to standing by her daughter no matter what? Was it all for show by Vanilla and to make sure that Cream didn't stray far away from the norm? Sure, she was being more than a little flirtatious with women a step or two above prostitutes, but she still valued her body. It didn't mean that she shouldn't have a little bit of fun.

"I just don't know what to do about this," she admits. "I love our daughter, Cane. I love her so much it hurts, but…I—I'm lost! She's always been the model girl, but seeing that…that venom from Tails and hearing the same thing from Cream. I…I gotta let her know my concerns. Whether she has children or not, I don't care. I want her to be safe, first and foremost, and based on what she's told me, she's not being completely safe. Not to mention, she did lie to me and her friends. It seems like a different Cream from where I sit. It just…"

Cream's heard enough. It's not so much the words but the fact that she didn't hear these concerns right away. She got the vibe that her mother loved her and was just acting as a concerned parent, but why couldn't Cream hear any of this? It boggled her mind to no end and left her with quite the sour taste in her mouth. After all, aren't they a family? Yes, Cream hid a lot, but couldn't her mother say all of this without consulting the departed?

No matter where she went, it seemed, Cream would be hit with some sadness. Whether it was the past or the present, she found nothing to hang on to but the good memories, which outweigh, just barely, the bad ones. Cream's gotta go. Her home gives her too many memories as well. Without informing her mother, she goes back to her room, writes a note, takes out a wallet, goes downstairs, leaving the note on the kitchen table, and does her best to quietly leave the house without her mother knowing that she's gone. Shutting the door silently behind her, she sighs in relief and goes over to her scooter to take a ride somewhere.

She's not a rebel, at least not in her mind. But sometimes life asks her to step back and get away if only for a moment.

When it comes to Cream, though many things are going right in her life, she needs to take a breath and come back to the here, now and beyond.

It's for _her_ sake, and no one else's.

* * *

A/N: So Cream is turned off by her mother's words, her chao's lone mission, her ex's harsh but true statements and life in general…sucks! Where will she find happiness? Find out soon!

Until then, it's been Rave!


	8. Marine, Rogue Sailor of the Seven Seas

Sailor's Song

Cream the Rabbit is not having a great time. Her past continues to haunt her through trickery and mockery as Tails's words after her admission hit her like a brick. She also remembers when Cheese went on a solo mission to save his missing brother, Chocola. It's been over a decade since Cheese left and Cream doesn't want to think the worst. Leaving her room, she goes to her mother's room where Vanilla sobs over a photo frame while talking to Cream's deceased father, Cane, and admitting that her daughter's behavior concerns her. Cream then decides to leave a note and get some fresh air frustrated that she's not had a conversation with her mom about these feelings.

DISCLAIMER: Marine, Cream and all other related characters and properties are owned and operated by SEGA Corporation and Sonic Team. This author makes no such claims and is not paid or compensated for the production of this fiction. Please do not flame.

(Chapter 8- Marine, Rogue Sailor of the Seven Seas)

* * *

An auditorium of attentive youngsters is currently full and listening to the two speakers on stage. The event is a charity government and career exposition for kids to take part in now that school's out for the season. Here, the kids listen to government officials speak about what they do and how they help everyone in their world.

Sure, it doesn't sound or feel appealing to many people and a lot of the speakers are liable to put these young ones to sleep. From that end, it often times depends upon the speaker to make the speeches stand out. In this case, the admirable traits of the mysterious Shadow the Hedgehog and the visually eye-catching Rouge the Bat speaking about the Guardian Units of Nations, or G.U.N. They had an advantage in more ways than one with Shadow speaking just above a whisper to force the kids to shut up and listen to what he had to say and Rouge controlling the visuals by handling a video and slide show.

Okay, it's true that Shadow and Rouge would rather be doing just about anything else given the circumstances while they relay to kids the type of work they do, up to and including specific criminal activity they attempt to halt on a frequent basis. Due to a car accident involving the two while transporting agents from a crime scene back to headquarters, Shadow was found liable for two additional vehicles and his G.U.N. issued car to boot.

To pay for this quicker than with pay cuts or further litigation, he's agreed to take part in these forums to explain what G.U.N. does for the next six months. Because he needed a partner with him to speak, he immediately thought of Rouge who immediately thought of the money she could make spending just ten to fifteen minutes four times a week speaking to people about G.U.N. and agreed to join her friend.

Shadow feels himself slipping off into the land of boredom, but is glad to be finished with his closing notes. "We at the Guardian Units of Nations are working all over the world to enforce the law against the most hardened of criminals. From the dealers of dangerous narcotics to those who work to terrorize the world's nations, it doesn't matter. G.U.N. is an exciting yet challenging arena in the government where only the best, brightest, and most cunning minds need apply. Work hard, learn to critically think and perhaps you out there can join Rouge and I as a part of G.U.N. Thank you all, stay safe, have a great summer and enjoy the rest of the show."

With those final remarks, Shadow and Rouge shake hands, wave to the applauding crowd and exit, stage right. Inwardly elated to have the presentation over, yet knowing that he has about another seventy of these things to do to get out of the G.U.N. doghouse, Shadow wipes the sweat off his brow and takes a deep breath in and out. Looking over to Rouge, he admits, "I'm never gonna get over that. Imagine me, the Ultimate Life Form, with major stage fright."

"I don't think the audience will mind too much," Rouge admits. "I mean, if the mere idea of taking out bad guys and kicking ass on a daily basis doesn't get their attention…"

"Then _you_ would, sheila," says a foreign tongue. Turning around, Rouge and Shadow see what appears to be a raccoon girl dressed in pirate garb including a hat with skull and crossbones, a navy blue Colonial-era suit and an 18th Century sabre. One might mistake her for Napoleon, but it's actually Marine wearing some pirate costume garb to sell young people on the Navy.

The G.U.N. agents can't see her face clearly, though, because of her hat, which is probably larger than Marine's head. "What's it to you?" Rouge questions the girl.

"Sweetheart, you're spunk and sex on wings," Marine admits, "and every young larrikin and even some sheilas in the audience had their eye on you. Their minds were practically on wank mode and for bonzer good reason. You look good enough to _devour_."

Rouge has had enough of this raccoon who seems to be too dumb for her mouth. "Hey, look here little girl," she says standing right in front of her, "I don't know who the hell you think you are, but it would serve you quite well if you keep comments like that to yourself."

Looking up from her pirate hat, she unabashedly smiles in Rouge's direction, Marine caresses the face of the voluptuous bat and asks her, "But, honestly, where's the fun in that, mate? Hooroo, sheila. My public waits." Marine takes a few steps towards the stage entrance while Rouge stays where she is, flabbergasted that another girl just flirted with her; the Shaman of the Sweet Kiss and the fly girl of flirtation.

She shakes her head while Shadow goes up to her and asks if she's okay. "Yeah, I'll be all right," Rouge responds. "It's just…there's something about that girl that rubs me the wrong way."

Shrugging his shoulders, Shadow figures that Rouge would be used to such actions, but he guesses that that's really not the case. "Maybe."

"Shadow?"

"Yes, Rouge?"

"What the hell is a larrikin?"

"And now, kids," says the female emcee of this event, "you're in for a special treat as you get to hear all about the exciting life of a sailor from that swashbuckler of the seven seas, Midshipman Marine the Raccoon!"

Shadow is taken aback for a moment, feeling that he's heard that name before, but it hasn't been for a while and the memory for him is a dim one. Meanwhile, Rouge mouths an obscenity and attempts to get a closer look at this apparent naval officer while onstage. It's difficult given that her back is to the two G.U.N. agents, but as the kids in the audience applaud, Marine turns around, apparently to begin her performance.

She starts, her recognizable accent speaks exaggeratedly about life aboard a ship, saying in pirate speak "You're out there, months at a time in the deep blue. You got no one but your shipmates and the waves. Those crushing waves coming a few heartbeats at a time and they seem to never, ever cease. It's an unreal sight to see so much water just…splashing about aimlessly."

From here, Marine turns around and gives the kids and adults some pressing advice. "No sailor worth their weight in stones ever did it on their own. If there were two bits of advice I'd give each of you should you ever decide to walk in me shoes, the first bit is to make sure…that you don't tick off your fellow shipmates to the point they say 'bugger all' and toss you overboard."

That advice garnered Marine a lot of laughter from the audience, kids and adults alike. Even Shadow couldn't help but nod his head in approval, even though he had a question about the presentation. "Hey! Since when are you allowed to swear during these things?" Marine veiled her language with great expertise and Shadow had to give her credit for that. Turning to his left, he asks, "What do you think of that…Rouge?"

She's not there at all. Gone with whatever might've taken her and in his mind, that's too bad, especially when Marine got to the second bit of advice; motion sickness pills are everyone's best friend. He's been on a ship before during a mission and can certainly relate to that. Looking around, though he'll miss the fun, he searches for Rouge.

It doesn't take a while. Shadow spots Rouge, who went out into the hallway to talk on her cell phone. She appears quite animated while speaking to whoever she's talking to, but he can't hear the conversation from about twenty yards away. He doesn't speak to her, not seeing any reason to do so.

Shadow returns to the backstage area where 'Swashbuckler Marine' continues her act while explaining all the great things that the Royal Navy of Southern Island do and what it would take for any of the kids to join them out on the seas. Hearing the commitment needed for joining the Navy impressed Shadow, especially with the number of ladies who were up for an equal physical challenge.

Another half hour passes and the presentations finally come to an end. Shadow heads out of the rear end of the theater to see Rouge leaning up against the brick wall by the door exit.

Looking at her for a few seconds, he informs her, "You didn't come back. The girl who flirted with you did quite well for herself, even if it's a cartoonish gimmick."

"There's something I had to handle concerning a…really important case that's just came up," Rouge explains, without much in the way of actual explanation. "Marine the Raccoon, that girl in the pirate get-up; did you see her leave the theater at all?"

"No," Shadow replies. "I believe she was changing out of her pirate garb and speaking with the event organizers when I last saw her. Why do you ask?"

"I need to see her and ask her some questions."

This, at least in Shadow's mind, didn't make any sense. "Wait. You can't still be angry about the remarks that she made, are you?"

"It's much more than that, Shadow," Rouge says, sounding like she's about to explain. Before she can do that, though, the rear exit opens to reveal Marine coming outside in a Navy sweat suit and duffel bag.

Before Marine can walk any further to her destination, she's stopped by Rouge using a strong command of "Hold on," while extending her right arm to make sure the raccoon doesn't go any further. "I just want to ask you a couple questions."

"Shoot, sweetheart," Marine replies. "Daylight is finite 'til after night."

"Whatever," Rouge says with an eye roll to boot. "Your name is Marine the Raccoon, right?"

"Since me birth day, sheila."

Rouge nods. She's found her after almost one year of searching. Smiling, she admits, "That's all I needed to know," before pulling back her right hand and proceeding to deliver what could only be described as a haymaker from hell. The punch knocks Marine down to the ground and clouds her vision for a moment.

Surprised by the attack, Shadow watches the scene unfold for a second before attempting to intervene. When Rouge sees him coming forward, she stops him saying, "I've got this, Shadow. Just stay back."

"But why did you…"

"Just do what I say!"

In the midst of that confrontation, Marine, who checks her mouth for any blood, finds none and asks Rouge, "Just what in the bloody hell was that about? Punching me out for kicks or what?"

"I've heard about you from a close source, Marine," Rouge responds. "You go about fucking with young girls' minds when they already have to deal with a lot of shit and you go make it worse. Maybe I ought to teach you a lesson so you know not to cross others like that again."

"What the hell are you talking about? Make some fucking sense, woman!"

"It doesn't matter," Rouge figures, turning her head off to the side. "If no one can talk sense into you, then they have to beat it into that melon of yours." Cracking her knuckles, she makes the claim, "It looks like I'll have to be the one."

"This is bullocks," Marine responds. "I don't know what you're talking about and you don't care to explain to me, so I think I should go. Ta-ta, bat girl."

"Oh, no you don't," says the bat as she glides to Marine, grabbing her by her shirt collar. Shadow readies himself in case anything gets out of hand. "Listen here, fuck-wad. Playing around with emotions is not cool, especially when you fuck up family situations."

"Look, you still won't say anything, so I'll say this. Rape isn't cool and everyone I do the naughty with is of age. It's not illegal and anyone who gets in bed with me knows what they're getting. To them, I say 'love it or leave it'. Who's gonna stop me?"

"Oh, that does it!" Rouge then punches Marine again, lifts her from the collar and says, "Words like 'bitch', 'asshole' and 'slut' don't even begin to define you. You're the lowest of the low. You have sex with people you don't even know and treat it like it's nothing."

"Why are you having such a piss party about it? If it happened to you, I'm sorry, but you're not gonna stop me because of some past experience."

"Is that so? Well, we'll see about that!" From there, Rouge goes on the attack, attempting to punch and kick Marine, who simply blocks the blows while barely breaking a sweat during this summer afternoon.

Shadow continues to hold steady, keeping his word to Rouge. In the midst of this combat, however, he gets a call. Checking his phone, he sees the caller ID showing the name 'Alicia' and heavily sighs, knowing that his day has just become more complicated than when it began. He opens up the phone to answer the call while the fight takes place.

Marine is starting to fatigue, but so is Rouge as their encounter starts to play out like a marathon spar. "Look, just quit it! I don't wanna fight you, sheila, especially over my sex life!"

"You must not know what it's like to have your heart broken," she says. "Maybe then you wouldn't be so fucking black hearted, you rac-clown!" Marine just doesn't know what to do at this point, so she shrugs off Rouge and runs away to stop fighting.

Rouge then chases after Marine who sees this and decides to use her last resort to get the bat off her back. She pulls out a blue gem from her pocket. It's a gift from her friend, Blaze, called a Sol Emerald and with it she turns around, holds the object in the air and says, "Sol Wave!" Marine's eyes glow a bright blue for a moment when this happens.

This causes Rouge to stop what she was doing. At first, she thought Marine had a Chaos Emerald, but the cut wasn't the same. From there, she hears something off in the distance similar to flowing water. A few seconds later, Rouge is practically engulfed by an ocean-like wave and thrown by that water into the side of a dumpster, where she bounces off and falls to the pavement.

"Oh, strewth!" is the immediate reaction of Marine. "I didn't think it would be that powerful." Not being completely heartless, she runs over to Rouge as Shadow does the same, keeping his caller on hold.

For a few seconds things look quite bad, until Rouge begins to stir. "Oh, wow," Marine exclaims. Looking up to Shadow, she admits, "Look, I just wanted her off me damn back. She sounded like she was talking bullocks—do you know what the bloody hell she was talking about?"

"I don't have a clue," Shadow answers honestly. "Well, she may be knocked out—that's nothing a hospital visit won't help—but…" Just to make sure, Shadow checks Rouge's pulse and it's normal. "…otherwise, she's fine."

"Oh, thank goodness," she speaks. "Again, I was just protecting myself."

"Understood," he remarks as the two of them hear some moaning and look towards Rouge to see her starting to come to.

It seems as if she's attempting to form words, but they start off as gibberish until Rouge says something along the lines of, "I'll get her for you, Rose. I swear."

While Shadow has no idea what to make of it, for Marine, the picture becomes much clearer. She stares off into space before Shadow asks her, "Do you know what she's talking about?"

The question throws her off, but only for a moment as she turns the question on its side and asks Shadow, "You mean, you don't know?"

"Well, I...I _do_ know an Amy Rose, but it doesn't make sense. I mean…"

"Well, _I_ don't know one!" Marine immediately counters, going on the defensive. "Look, I have to head back to base. My best advice is that she needs to see a doctor posthaste…to check her head."

Rolling his eyes somewhat, Shadow admits, "You're right. Go on to where you need to go, Marine. I'm sorry about this."

"No need for you to apologize, uh…"

"I'm Shadow. Shadow the Hedgehog."

"All right then, Shadow. Maybe I'll see you under better circumstances."

"Hopefully," he admits while Marine walks off to the Central City military barracks.

As she walks off, he hears the angry voice of the person on his cell phone. Bringing it to his ear, Shadow says, "Look, Alicia. This isn't a good time. Rouge needs some medical help. Whatever info you have, just send me the reports via e-mail and we'll look over them on Skype again tonight. Is that clear?" Listening for an answer, Shadow gets it, nods approvingly and says, "Okay, I'll talk to you then…good bye."

Hanging up the phone, he proceeds to open it up again to dial for an ambulance while Rouge continues to talk about helping 'Rose' and getting back at Marine.

Something then comes to mind as far as Rouge's rant towards Marine is concerned. Why didn't this come to mind earlier? Something very odd and scandalous hits him as he looks down towards Rouge and pleads with her to stay where she is and wait for the EMTs. He now knows why his partner didn't want to talk about the matter much because it does upset her given a remark she made about a 'family situation'.

"Rouge?" he says.

"Yeah, Shadow?" she irks out wearily.

"I'm sorry…I forgot."

* * *

A/N: The plot and the hard heads…thicken. More on Rouge, Shadow and this mysterious 'Rose' will soon come. Next chapter has Cream practice while Sonic gets more opinions on Tails' errant behavior.

Until next time, it's been Rave!


	9. Innocence Denied

Sailor's Song

Shadow and Rouge take part in a presentation of government organizations. They come, by order, to talk about G.U.N. and Marine the Raccoon is also there to promote the Navy while wearing a pirate outfit. Marine, arrogantly speaks of Rouge's sex appeal, almost immediately turning her off. She does a bit of a comedy routine, but Rouge doesn't see it as she leaves to make a call.

Afterwards, Rouge and Marine have a physical encounter addressing Marine's sexual behavior as if Rouge takes it personally. Rouge's words are very cryptic and Marine doesn't know what she's saying, even when she mentions the name 'Rose'. Wanting Rouge off her back, Marine uses a special ability called Sol Wave, enhanced through use of a Sol Emerald. It knocks out Rouge, who continues to mention a 'Rose'. It hits Marine then and she leaves the scene as soon as she can. Once it hits Shadow, he starts having regrets and apologizes to the potentially-concussed Rouge.

DISCLAIMER: Marine, Cream and all other related characters and properties are owned and operated by SEGA Corporation and Sonic Team. This author makes no such claims and is not paid or compensated for the production of this fiction. Please do not flame.

(Chapter 9- Innocence Denied)

* * *

It might have been against Cream's better judgment to do this. The volatile situation concerning her friends and Tails' words has not yet settled. Cream asked for space from her friends to meditate on the situation, but for the past few days, she's opened back up and is willing to explain what happened in greater detail.

Two days ago, she felt a feeling of the past ganging up on her and playing with her mind. They were making her feel that there were very few good days in the midst of her very big and very bad days. Vanilla spoke out to Cream's late father about her concerns as a mother, including how she found out that Cream preferred the company of other girls.

Her psyche brought Cream into a very depressive state, but events like being a part of Mighty the Armadillo's band, The Green Spades, and learning that she could make over 20,000 rings doing this for about one month mean that the good probably does outweigh the bad. Cream's stable of friends do help her keep a lot of things in perspective and this is probably why she invited Amy over to the Central City recreational center so they could have a few words.

Mighty, Ray, Roy and Cream have a group room, often used for summer activities, reserved from 2pm to 5pm. Cream told Amy that the group would break at about 3:30pm after practicing a few songs and some live stage routines. Amy arrived about ten minutes earlier to see her best friend in a black suit and tie, just like Mighty and the others. She played the bass, listened to the lyrics and saw her having fun. While Mighty was there, jumping about, twirling around and bouncing during the bridges and interludes, Amy figured that this was just what Cream needed in her life. With her breakup with Tails in the past, Cream has only her happiness to be concerned with from this point forward and right now, she really looks to have some semblance of peace.

Standing there and admiring the show woman that Cream has become, Amy gets knocked back to reality when Ray's twin, Roy, looks up from his keyboard and yells for his band mates to stop. Mighty quits flailing about while Ray puts away his drumsticks and Cream looks up from her four-string to see her friend. Taking the strap off of her bass she runs over to Amy while Mighty asks Cream, "What's Sonia doing here? I like her and all, but…"

"Sonia?" Cream questions while giving Amy a hug. "This is Amy Rose, Mighty. I told you, she was gonna come here and we were gonna talk during our break, remember?"

"Oh, yeah," Roy answers.

"It's that time, already?" Ray questions while looking at his watch.

Mighty did the same thing and said, "Well, I'll be. Okay. We'll break for…twenty minutes and come ready to perform some more at 3:50. Sound good?"

Everyone voices their approval and put away their instruments to either get something from the vending machine or stretch. The pacifist armadillo immediately apologized to Amy claiming that he didn't want other musicians looking at his routine. "With Sonia, Manic and others coming in town for the music festival, we have to be alert. When Roy saw a pink hedgehog come in here, Sonia immediately came to mind and…"

"I understand," Amy interrupts. "Not a problem, Mighty. I know you want to keep your act under wraps, and it's no problem. My lips are sealed."

"Thank you, Amy," Mighty says while leaving to get some juice. Once he leaves, Cream and Amy sit down on a couple of chairs in the room.

Amy, proclaiming herself to be an expert on the matter, compliments Cream, saying, "You look amazing, Cream! I never knew you owned a suit, but I have to say you wear it well."

"Thanks, Amy," says Cream. "I've actually had several suits for choir and jazz bands since I was about twelve." Looking over what she's got on right now, she admits, "What I have on right now I bought about a year ago." Despite her desire to make conversation in the last minute or so, Amy feels herself slipping into a bit of sadness. Cream notices this and attempts to turn it around. "Hey, chin up. You know clothes don't make this rabbit, Amy. No matter what, I'm always gonna be Cream; the little sister you never had, you know?"

"Yeah, that's true," she answers unconvincingly.

Cream can tell that her friend is not feeling the conversation at all. "Amy, you're like a brick wall. Now you said you wanted to talk, so…"

"I didn't know if it was okay to talk about certain…subjects in front of the band."

"Amy, they know," Cream replies. "I'm not interested in keeping secrets anymore, so I told Mighty and the band and they have no problem with it whatsoever."

"That's good."

"Anything you want to say to me or ask me, you can do it right now. I have no reason to be afraid, Amy, and neither should you."

How interesting is it that Cream is making sure that Amy doesn't stray from the path of friendship? Sure it's happened in the past, but not to this extent. Nevertheless, Cream has told Amy that she can say whatever is on her mind, so she gathers her thoughts, takes in a deep breath and begins. "Okay, Cream." Looking her best friend in the eye, she wants to know the following, "Be upfront with me. Are you okay and…whatever that answer is, I want a reason."

Amy wants details. 'That's nothing new,' Cream figures. In any case, she did want to talk. "Overall, I feel like shit." Even though Cream is an adult and a teenager who's known for some rebellion, Amy doesn't think she'll ever get used to Cream cursing. A strict upbringing is more likely to cause a proportionally chaste attitude, but there are instances where the teen rabbit just wants to break that spell. Amy can respect that, but hearing vivid details about her best friend that not even she was privy to will take time to reconcile in her mind.

"I know everyone wants to hang Tails on the crux for what happened," Cream speaks, causing Amy to nod. "I wouldn't rush out to get the nails, wood and hammer so quickly, though. Amy, I know you want to think the best of me and the best of others. Bless you for existing because you make me want to do better than I've been doing to myself and those around me. Honestly, before anyone decides to get their piece of Tails, talk to me. I'm willing to talk and say…I'm not that innocent girl who keeps missing her mommy, Amy."

Shaking her head, Amy begins, "Okay, but Cream…"

"That girl died a long time ago," Cream interrupts, "when she learned that this world is full of people who will tell you how to live, what to do and how to believe. There is no trust, few people are truly looking after you and while finding freedom means different things to all of us, securing true freedom; for everyone? Not many out there want to do that.

"Amy, the problem was that I had an enemy that knew me too well." At this point, Cream can feel herself breaking down, but did everything within her to keep it from happening. Amy reached for tissues, but Cream said no; that she would be all right. A few deep breaths later, she continues on about her worst enemy.

"I was facing a part of me that was ashamed and didn't know why. Oh, I was told that I was every evil thing in the book; like I haven't looked real evil in the face since I was six years old! Why did I fall for it, then? It would've been so simple to just stick with a good friend who treats me well, deal with pickles in my privates a few times and just smile and move. Well, maybe I didn't find any goddamn reason to smile. Maybe the idea of me…dying inside, little by little because I'm living a lie from tip to sole could've knocked me back where I belong, but it didn't."

"But why?" Amy asks, flabbergasted by the news. "I mean for me it's obvious, though I can't speak for others as much as others can speak for me, but…I can't wrap myself around being with anyone else but Sonic, so how do you even stand kissing, hugging, sharing inner thoughts with someone you don't even share feelings for? It makes no sense to me at all!"

Pointing to Amy, she points out, "That last thing you said, 'it makes no sense', and you're right. I was _crazy_ to think I could turn a good friend into a boyfriend. Crazy people do crazy things and…I kept staying with Tails somehow believing I could learn to love him and stop ogling the fairer sex. That's craziness, Amy. I played Tails thinking that I could win the prize and magically free myself of my gayness." Cream rolls her eyes at this point. "Like that's gonna happen if you hire female escorts for breast play and erotic massages. Look, if you want my honest opinion, I'm glad I left him. He wasn't what I needed. He's not bad, Amy, he just did something bad and it pisses me off that he can pretty much hide and get away with this for as long as he has but wrong is wrong, Amy. After all, he has every reason to call me out on me being untrustworthy. The way you see it, if everyone in the world did something bad, we'd all be lying in bed with headaches."

"Come on," Amy relents, "I can't be that bad."

"Your hammer is your precious, Amy. Yes, you are that bad," Cream smiles while her best friend turns a bit red in the face. "Seriously, though. I know you've been having a lot of thoughts about what to do or say when you finally see Tails. Listen to what I have to say. You can curse at him all you want, say whatever is on your mind and yell at him until his eardrums bleed, but please, _please_ don't get physical with him. Trust me when I say it's just not worth it. I…I don't even know why I'm telling you this, but just listen to Sonic. Believe me, he'll _never_ forgive you if you hurt Tails."

Amy's head is down at the moment. It's clear she's giving Cream's words some thought. "You're right."

"Damn right I'm right," Cream speaks. "Besides, this isn't your battle. I know you mean well when you stick up for me but at some point, that has to be my job. I'm…I'm a big girl now, Amy, and that's just the way things are gonna be now, okay?"

"Okay," Amy answers. "I just have to remember that, because it's gonna take time, Cream."

Cream is just so thankful to have her circle of friends not freak out at all her admissions and why she and Tails didn't work out. Sure, there were those like Vector who didn't want to know about Cream's experiments with other girls, claiming that that was her business, but she insisted that getting this out meant absolving herself of any additional lies. "Well, I'd rather have my friends take their time and accept this than to reject me for only one part of me. Thanks, Amy, for being a true friend."

The two girls give each other a big hug and Amy insists that Cream, "Just let it all out. Don't ever let anyone tell you that you should feel ashamed. You're not weak, Cream. You're one of the strongest friends I know."

It wasn't a breakdown and it didn't have to be, either. Cream just let the tears fall where they may. She didn't believe she deserved all the compliments from Amy, but she'd rather hear that than innuendos and idle speculation without foresight.

While Amy and Cream remain in their embrace, Mighty reenters the room to restart practice, but stops when he sees this bonding moment between his band mate and her friend, he stops the twin flying squirrels and softly says, "Let's just give her a moment."

Puckering his lower lip, drummer Ray concedes to the band leader before saying, "Okay, but trust me when I say that with women a moment can turn into a lifetime."

* * *

A/N: For those expecting another scene, I apologize. I will have that scene in a future chapter. Nevertheless, chapter ten will mark a milestone in the story and mark a great turning point, as well.

I have to figure out how these last few chapters have fared. I noticed I haven't been asking for reviews, so maybe it's time to change that. Let me know in a review (it doesn't have to be long) what you thought of the chapter so that I may get the feedback. If you need proof that I listen to reviews, just ask Aya Rose. While the idea to keep stories separate for now was always on my mind, she convinced me that it was absolutely necessary.

Until next time, this is Rave!


	10. Why Did I Come Here?

Sailor's Song

Amy goes to a local recreational center to have a conversation with Cream. She's dressed like her fellow band mates in The Green Spades; in a black suit and tie. Mighty and the others mistook Amy for Sonia the Hedgehog, but with that mistake resolved, everyone took a break while Amy and Cream had their talk.

Cream candidly speaks about her alleged innocence and how it no longer applies to her given her behavior and actions. While she admits that Tails was good to her, he wasn't right for her and she couldn't make the situation better for herself if she didn't share the attraction. She asks that Amy not do anything physical to Tails and she agrees that Cream has to fight her own battle eventually.

DISCLAIMER: Marine, Cream and all other related characters and properties are owned and operated by SEGA Corporation and Sonic Team. This author makes no such claims and is not paid or compensated for the production of this fiction. Please do not flame.

(Chapter 10- Why Did I Come Here?)

* * *

It's Friday night and the lady Mids wanted to go out. Since joining the Navy, Marine and her ship buddies quickly learned that dressing in their uniforms and, in numerous cases, using their feminine charm, would allow them to reap the benefits of their service.

All around the world, they would be able to get into clubs for free or reduced cost. While that wasn't the case for _The Vale Shack_ and _Las Rascasse_ this evening, the local bar called _Anchor's Weigh_ served as the spot where her crew would spend the least amount of money and enjoy themselves as much as they can.

This is including, but not limited to, getting very, very inebriated. As the velvet rope is opened up for the dressed-up Mids, Bianca yells out a modern day battle cry, screaming "Let's get fucked up, sheilas!" These words cause cheering and whooping amongst the group of Mids with a notable exception. The raccoon girl of the bunch gives off a half-hearted 'yea' which her team either doesn't hear or doesn't notice because the club is so loud after their chant of 'Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, oye, oye, oye'.

It's not that Marine wasn't interested in going out and having drinks; she's done it with her core group of sailors on countless occasions in the past year. There's just been a lot on her mind in the day and a half since running into who she now remembers as Rouge the Bat. Enough badgering from her about a 'Rose' and the lady she described as 'sex on wings' wanting to beat her to a pulp did eventually make her realize the reason why this was the case.

Without question, this hasn't been a rare occurrence for Marine. If she's honest with herself, she knows she's been playing with fire since she became a teenager and started having sex with other girls. It's gotten serious, too, even having the police come down to her boat to investigate various encounters, never finding any incriminating evidence, like a female peer on her property. She's a slick one, but also knows that many out there have a long memory and don't forget if someone apparently violated a friend or relative of theirs.

Knowing that she's gonna remain in the city for another couple of weeks; Marine can't escape like she's been able to for many of her past encounters. Rouge will want to see her again; it's obvious in her head, so she figures she'll have to confront her whenever she comes face to face with the bat. Marine didn't exactly explain herself because the memories wouldn't come to her right away, but now that she knows why Rouge is so angry at her, she can go about doing some damage control.

Rouge certainly meant business and that did make the athletically sound Marine take notice, even on a night when she's supposed to have fun. It consumed her so much, she lost track of her group and ended up bumping into a honeybee, buzzing about the main room of _Anchor's Weigh_.

"Hey, sour puss," says the bee, who is, in fact, Charmy. "Either you're in the mood or not, but watch where the hell you're going."

Marine, certainly not in the mood for any rampant confrontation, blows off the tone of the bee and says, "No need to be yobbo, buzzy mate. Just bogged with a lot of garbage, you know? I come here to get away from it all, yet everything seems to come back like boomerangs from home."

"Whoa, hold on," Charmy speaks, feeling a little regret for his snapping criticism. Adjusting his position in the midst of a club with very poor lighting, he notices the white uniform worn by the girl and gets a well needed uplifting. "Wow, a real Southern Island Midshipman…or is it…"

"No, I don't mind being called Midshipman, mate," she explains. "No need to change what's been workin' for centuries, right?"

"I guess, and I'm sorry if I overreacted there. My girl—my _fiancée _is coming here tonight to see my best friend perform and she's about twenty minutes late."

She can certainly understand how someone can be more than a little on edge when their date for the evening doesn't arrive on time. Nevertheless, one question arises in Marine's head. "All that sounds ripper and what else mate, but the bouncer told us girls that the entertainment wouldn't start for another half hour."

"That's true," Charmy admits, "though I did want to offer her some support before she gets up on stage. Well, maybe I'm flapping my wings too hard about this. We still have plenty of time, right?"

"Of course! No drama to be had here yet, mate." Given that the two are now acting cordial, the young go-getter brings out her right hand and says, "The name's Marine, mate. Marine the Raccoon, and you are?"

"Charmy Bee," he says, returning the handshake. Looking behind her and seeing more servicewomen in uniform, he inquires, "You came with them, right?"

"Guilty, mate," she answers. "It's crazy, though. Usually, I'd be in a good mood and ready to party, but…not tonight."

"Oh, did something bad happen?"

Does she really want to reveal what went down with Rouge earlier or blow off Charmy for being nosy? Marine elects to go with a third option and says, "Let's just say part of my past has come back and won't let go without getting their revenge."

"Damn!" he interjects. "Well, hope it goes off without a hitch. I'll keep waiting for milady Saffron to arrive and, just keep your head up, Marine. Whatever problems you're going through, I'm sure they can be solved easily."

After Marine thanks Charmy, he heads back outside to check for his fiancée and the teen Midshipman ponders how her issue is not that simple before taking a spot by the barstools with her team members.

"Oh how nice of you to finally get into the swing of things, Marine!" Dana exclaims. "I know close encounters with the pissed off kind is something you'd probably be used to by now, but…damn! I can't remember an experience with you taking the cake like that since we set sail."

"I just want you to know, ya dreadlocked diva," Marine beings, referring to the echidna, "that I'm ignoring everything coming out of your fucking mouth. You know why? Bulls shit more useful matter on a daily basis, and you can use it for bettering Mother Earth."

"Now, girls—don't get your knickers too twisted, mates," Bianca says to both Marine and Dana. "We came here to have fun, after all and besides, Dana, at least you won't have to deal with the wrath of a pissed off big sister who's also a G.U.N. spy."

"Oh, bugger off, mate!" Marine says, blowing off Bianca's pointed words. "Just like I told you this morning, I don't have any reason to be afraid. Hopefully, I gave Rouge enough of a bump to the head so that she doesn't try to corner me like a coward again and ask about Rose...even though I know she will. Ay, mate!" she calls to the bartender. "Could I get jagertee on the rocks?"

"I'll have it right out," the male duck bartender replies.

"Good show," Marine says, thanking the gentleman. "If I have to hear all this bullshit from my mates this evening, I _should _be able to drown it out with a smasher."

"Okay but what about your fear of waking up after a drunken encounter, Marine? It's been three days and you still haven't come across any desperate souls and you did say you needed to make up the lost time, am I right?"

The man; the so-called rational one of the bunch, just had to bring that little matter onto the table. Ronny just brought up the fact that Marine, the obsessive and controlling playgirl that she can become at times always likes to be of sound mind during her sexual encounters. She has this fear of waking up to something she didn't go to bed with and that's been her long-standing policy since becoming sexually active even before she started to socially drink.

"Eh, I…I don't know, mate. It could be that I'll fall flat on my arse, or I'll just do the responsible and disciplined thing and mind my P's and Q's, you know?" When the bartender brings Marine's requested drink to her, she takes a couple of sips before saying, "You rarely find the best snatch your first nights on shore, though, and I can't see anything really standing out from where I sit. If you have patience and know that the first ones don't always bite, you're bound to end up with a few gems along the way. But you know all this, right Ronny?"

"All too well," says the kangaroo laconically.

"Say, do any of you know about this entertainment performing this evening?" Tracey tried to get an answer from her shipmates to no avail. No one was sure of what would be playing this evening and decided to just wait for when show time arrived.

Another half an hour goes by and while her crew mates have had their sample of drinks for this night out, Marine has continued to take sips of her only jagertee of the evening, not really having the thirst for anything else and regretting coming here tonight, given that she's been at the 'arse end' of their many jokes this evening. Looking down at her glass, Marine sees that she still has half of her drink remaining. It's nowhere near enough for her to get a buzz, so she's still thinking and acting with a clear head while her rambunctious group carries on with their happiness.

They and the rest of the people in the club are silenced by a male emcee standing near a stage and in front of a red curtain. "I hope everyone's enjoying their evening here at _Anchor's Weigh_." This gets quite the approval from the audience, who cheer in response. "At this time, I'd like to introduce you to tonight's entertainment. In just a couple of weeks, he's gonna be taking his alternative rock band to the Central City Music Festival to compete against sixty other bands all over the world for the title of 'Best In Tune'.

"For tonight, they'll provide you some unique covers and originals to tide you over until the festival. The band includes Mighty the Armadillo on lead guitar and lead vocals, the twin flying squirrels, Ray and Roy, on drums and keyboard, respectively, and replacing Julie-Su the Echidna on bass and backing vocals is Cream the Rabbit. Together they form a group that has a great chance of being tops at the festival. Together they form…The Green Spades! Give it up! Show them your love!" With that, the curtain opens revealing the band members with Mighty by the microphone thanking everyone for coming out to see them and hoping that they don't disappoint.

Ray counts from one to four while snapping his drumsticks together as Cream opens with a bass line to bring the people into the song. Though she doesn't know it, Cream has caught the attention of one audience member. Marine didn't think much of the band at first, but her two eyes are on this unique sight in front of her right now. She knew she was seeing clearly now as she laid her eyes on her. She stood just over five feet tall, wearing a white shirt with black trousers held up by black suspenders. She also wore thick black glasses, but Marine figured that they weren't something she wore all the time.

Either way, from where Marine sat, this girl was something else! 'Holy mackerel!' is the thought that came to mind for her. 'She's ripper, for damn certain! Cream is her name? Well then…' Whatever thoughts were swimming through her mind right now, they were, much to Marine's surprise, not very dirty. They revolved around her wanting to meet with and talk to Cream and not just how good of a lay she would be while on Marine remained on shore.

As Cream shared the microphone with Mighty for some line about brains dropping like flies and clock handles flying out of control, she started to question something of great relevance. She was sweating like she just went through a marathon sauna session and couldn't figure out the reason why.

Of all the girls she's seen through the years, and there have been many, Cream can't compare to any others in the physical sense. Her hair is quite conservative, her dress looks like something out of a jazz ensemble and she's hardly wearing any makeup. Her breasts are modest and somewhat perky at best while her hips are only visible not showing off much except the fact that there is a bust and butt there but little else and she's slim and tone.

The only thing Marine can latch onto that stands out amongst all others are Cream's ears. She's never seen them that long, but they looked beautiful. Outside of that detail, there's really not much that leaps out at Marine, latches onto her and begs her to not let go. Quite frankly, the girl is above average in the looks department, but that leaves Marine with one important question:

'If this shelia is basically a plain Jane, why the bloody hell am I sweating thinking about just talking to her?' Marine questions. 'There've been plenty of other girls I've come across and that's never happened once! I don't get it.'

* * *

A/N: More on this story to come including the two girls meeting at last, so stay tuned for that!

Until next time, this is Rave!


	11. An Honest Ice Breaker

Sailor's Song

Marine, along with her fellow Mids, Dana, Tracey, Ronny and Bianca go to a club called _Anchor's Weigh _for Friday night. Marine, who's down in the dumps because she realized that Rouge wanted her because she had sexual relations with her younger sister, Rose, ran into Charmy, who's trying to find his fiancée as they are there to offer support for Cream and her first night on the job for Mighty and the band.

The night goes on and Marine continues to be the butt of her teammate's jokes as they think of what Rouge would do to her if she sees her again. She takes a few sips of a rum and tea before checking out the band, specifically the bass player, Cream, making plans in her head to see her after the band's set.

DISCLAIMER: Marine, Cream and all other related characters and properties are owned and operated by SEGA Corporation and Sonic Team. This author makes no such claims and is not paid or compensated for the production of this fiction. Please do not flame.

(Chapter 11- An Honest Ice Breaker)

* * *

Mighty's band, The Green Spades, had far more creative license in these quaint atmospheres than at major music festivals. A well-known requirement of taking part in the band was versatility with instruments. Virtually everyone in the band can play each other's instruments, and one of the numbers they performed, called 'In Another's Shoes' had the band members switch their instruments in between the song in a round robin style.

Cream knew that taking part in a rock band, even though she's essentially a supporting member, would require her to exert a lot of energy to maintain the necessary stage presence just to keep up with Mighty. Stage presence from performing in front of thousands to making music for just a few is all about making a connection. Often times, it can be a matter of just using an individual out of the audience to project her emotion and performance out to the masses.

During the set, Cream couldn't help but notice a pair of bright blue eyes staring up at her from the crowd. They belonged to a Midshipman girl who based on her striped brown fur, Cream figured was a raccoon. She is rolling her half-full glass on the table as she checked out the band, and from Cream's perspective, herself. For several minutes while she played bass, it appeared that all she did was stare at her. This is something that through the years she's gotten used to with acceptance and clarity. After wrapping up shows with guys ogling her while she played in the background, often the only girl of a male-dominated set, she'd have to deal with her share of aggressive guys who saw her as nothing more than a sex symbol and not a legitimately talented musician.

With Cheese no longer in the picture, Cream knew she had to defend herself from the most belligerent of the bunch, including those who didn't take news of her orientation well. She countered this by learning combat training from Rouge and Shadow. It only made sense if she truly wanted to be independent. This took place at her request and she was given advance knowledge that her training would be intense. Cream accepted it and through a period of four months, earned the respect of the two G.U.N. agents by completing the passage without any objections or caveats. If she wanted to be a quality musician, and possibly a rock star, she knew she couldn't be passive any longer. Cream had to be in full control and that could only begin and end with her.

This situation with the female Midshipman while being the same, however, is much different. Issues with overly assertive fans came about due to fantasies they had of being with a star in the making. Cream would squash these as best as she could by simply telling the pursuer that she, while flattered, wasn't interested. She'd inform these guys of the reason why and politely ask them not to tell anyone about it. Other encounters might have involved some physical force or a call to the police, but usually it wouldn't get that far. How they began, however, were essentially in the same manner.

Sure Cream could be called naïve at an age where it made sense for her to be like that, but those days were long gone. Like the guys before her, this girl was flirting with her and she was as pathetically obvious as they came. Surprising as it might have been, Cream can never remember another girl giving her the eye quite like this one. How she did it was the most interesting part about this evening. The Midshipman would pretend to not be staring at her as if Cream was an optical illusion, especially when rabbit would look back at raccoon, apparently calling the bluff of this girl who appears to be her age.

It was an interesting exchange which couldn't have lasted longer than fifteen minutes. Despite that, Cream loved the attention and savored it on into the curtain call when she took the time to wave to everyone, but especially towards this girl. In fact as she took a bow with the band and then walked off, she hoped to run into her if only to tell her that her flirting was cute in a way that a ten-year-old boy would flirt with a teacher. Then again, she could be fooling herself and grasping at very thin straws.

Walking off stage, Cream leaves the sailor behind to deal with her friend's meaningful yet teasing words. "Could you not look any more obvious, mate?" Bianca asked her.

"Yeah, she might be interested," Ronny affirmed. "Interested in getting you some reform school treatment for that pathetic display you call flirting."

"There's a visible line between flirting and stalking and I think you might have just given it the spat back there with that rabbit girl," Dana declared in front of her fellow Mids.

On and on the sailors went with their criticisms and disapproving thoughts toward Marine. After a while, she wondered if they had a point. No one in their circle had a greater reputation of being able to use slick tricks of the trade so that girls would notice her and Marine seemed to bump all of that in favor of the cheesy eye motions and stares that would be expected for a drunken encounter and not a seasoned expert.

Marine dodged all the criticism and because she wasn't even remotely drunk by the end of the night compared to her teammates, she made it her mission to meet Cream after she left her dressing room in order to explain her actions. She left her fellow Mids who headed back to the barracks. They weren't held to a strict curfew, leaving Marine plenty of time to make her moves the right way. Sailors are only required to be in before three in the morning local time giving them enough conceivable time to nap before getting up for a run at sunrise during weekdays and workouts with morning chow on weekends.

When her team left, wishing Marine luck on their way out, Marine made her way to the backstage area. She didn't have to deal with security at all because the backstage dressing rooms are in the same area as the restrooms, meaning that the artists and the audience can often interact with each other before and after shows.

Marine turns the corner leading to the dressing rooms and an emergency exit. There she sees Cream holding conversation with two honeybees. One of them, Marine recognizes from his frantic flying earlier as he told her that he was looking for his fiancée so they could give a band member support. Lo and behold, it was Charmy who has apparently found his lady friend and is speaking with Cream about how well a job she did this evening.

All Marine has to do now is walk over there and talk to the girl. As she's finding out, however, this is a process that is much easier said than done. 'Why is this so bloody hard for me?' she thinks while she feels herself starting to shake. And, if she's not mistaken, is that sweat coming off of her brow right now? Why in the world would the great Marine the Raccoon, someone with a reputation known across continents, be sweating for another girl when she's seen and been with hundreds? 'She's just a girl and I'm getting goose pimples over a girl! This is bullocks! I've conquered mountains before and in the looks department, she's practically a bald hill. Just go up to this girl and say 'Hello', Marine. How freakin' difficult can that be?'

After a deep breath, she hears some words from who she assumes is Saffron about how the band is, without a doubt, ready for the music festival. "That's right," Charmy adds, "And we'll be sure to support you there, too." Looking off and into the corner of his eye, the teen bee spots Marine from earlier. He remarks, "Oh, Saffron! Remember that girl I told you about earlier; the one who set me straight?"

"Yeah."

"Well," he begins while pointing in his direction causing Cream and Saffron to look off to their right, "there she is!"

Cream spots her and immediately sees Marine, not knowing her name but recognizing that nervous smile that came from someone who wasn't sure of their next move.

Marine certainly didn't know how to act. A part of her felt like running and forgetting this whole night happened, but she decided to, instead, rustle up the courage and say "Well, hello mate. This is kind of awkward. I really don't mean to impose, though."

"Hey, it's no problem." Because Cream was more certain of what she wanted to do at this moment, she chooses to take action and see what the girl who flirted with her wants, as if she hadn't the faintest notion. The first thing she would have to do is make this semi-public area scarcer. "That's true, I did catch you earlier!" Cream's curiosity, she would internally argue, is getting ahead of her better judgment as she looks towards Charmy and Saffron. "Guys, I really appreciate you coming here this evening and thank you both. I do want to speak with this girl, though, and it's getting kind of late."

Lady Saffron was not as in tune with what Cream was saying as Charmy was. Unlike her fiancée, she didn't see Marine earlier and didn't get that Marine wasn't simply a curious fan asking for an autograph or some questions. Before Saffron can get in a word, Charmy steps in and says, "All right, Cream. Saffron, we really should be heading home. You know how Vector gets about me being out too late. He still can't completely wrap his mind around the idea that I'm older now."

If there is one thing Saffron had to agree with her fiancée, it's that living in a house of older men when he was just a kid stays with the men for a while making it difficult for the guys to shake that kid image of Charmy they remember from earlier days. Being the first of the group to get engaged, even though the courtship has been arranged since the two were kids, does some work in fixing that image, but old habits don't go without a fight. "That's right."

"We can talk some more this weekend, though," Cream figures and both bees acquiesce while flying off and promising to speak again with their rabbit friend soon.

This leaves both Marine and Cream alone; the way each girl would prefer to be right now. With no honeybees in the way to spoil her good time, Marine is at ease and decides to come closer to Cream.

Even though she's much more relaxed, she still isn't quite sure what she should do next and, once again, Cream takes on the reins of this mostly silent conversation. "So I caught you giving me the eye earlier."

"Uh…yeah," Marine says, giving Cream her honesty if nothing else. Still a bundle of nerves and not even hearing Cream's remark, she simply introduces herself while holding out her hand, saying "I'm First Class Midshipman Marine the Raccoon of the Royal Navy of Southern Island. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"So you're in the Southern Island Navy? I could tell you were from Southern Island from the accent, but my goodness, that's a ways away!" Cream replies while shaking the other girl's hand. "I actually wanted to catch you if you couldn't get to me first, but…Charmy, who you just saw fly off with his fiancée, he can talk up a storm if you let him. That's why I gave him and his fiancée, Saffron, the kind request to leave us alone."

As the two shake hands, Marine finds herself unwilling to let go, even though she's eventually gonna have to. Cream's hand is so warm and welcoming to the senses that she feels herself drifting off into dreams from back in her childhood where she would be with the perfect girl but never get a chance to see who she looked like. At least Cream was welcoming, just like this girl she remembers from her dreams. 'No way, though. It was just a dream. It's not like paths cross that seamlessly in the real world…right?'

Suddenly, however, Cream removes her hand from the hand of Marine. As the military girl gets out of her trance she hears the musician say, "Oh, where in the world are my manners? My name is Cream the Rabbit and I live on the outskirts of Central City. I play a lot of musical instruments, but you already know that. It's nice to meet you, Marine, but there is something I want to clear up from earlier."

Cream leaves it open for Marine to speculate what the other girl wants to talk about, but Marine can't quite pinpoint what it is. She asks, "And that was?"

"You were…flirting with me earlier, right Marine? I know that look that you gave me all too well from my travels."

The cat, or in this case, the raccoon, was out of the bag. She saw no reason to be dishonest with Cream any longer. "You got me, mate. I was giving you the eye…and then some."

Nodding her head, Cream had a look that could be best described as neutral. Marine couldn't get a read on the eighteen-year-old until she cracked a smile and asked her, "That was some damn pathetic flirting…mate. I hope you know that, right?"

"Uh, yeah. I'm well aware," she admits. "I don't know the bloody hell was wrong with me, but—wait. So you don't mind that I was flirting with you?"

"No," Cream answers. "In fact, I was real flattered. I've never noticed a girl flirting with me while I've performed."

"So, just so we're clear, you are…"

"Yeah, I got outed recently. The circumstances are kind of…complicated."

"Well, this is different," Marine responds. "I did have me eye on you, Cream, and usually it takes some playful persuasion before someone bites on the bait, but damn. This is quite a shock. Not only did you notice, but…you were kind of playing the same games with me, eh sheila?"

No good deed should go without a reward. When all was said and done, it was Marine, and not Cream, who went to see the other girl and went through all this trouble just to make sure that she would notice her. Watching for anyone around her, Cream looks the other girl in the eye, saying "Listen, Marine. I'll say this. I would be lying if I said that I wasn't at least curious. There are two things that you should know, however. I've never been in a serious relationship with another girl and I got outed by my ex-boyfriend after I admitted that I cheated on him with…female escorts and prostitutes. So if you're scared about anything I've just said, you can go and we can forget this."

"Wait, what?" Marine wonders. "You're worried about that bunk, sheila? Please don't make me trot down Memory Boulevard. I've done much worse than that, mate. There's no need to stress over it. Besides, now you're free from that sloth who'd try to make you feel miserable for something that's a part of you."

Cream is relieved that this girl, who seemed to come out of nowhere, accepted her flaws without reservation. "You wanna go get a drink? I know this is a bar and what not, but I know a much cozier place we can go and it's not that far either."

"Thanks, mate, but to be honest, I'm not much of a drinker," Marine answers, her unspoken policy coming back into play this evening. "I'll have one or two, but that one or two I've already had tonight…unless you have other ideas."

Nodding her head, another idea has, in fact, hit Cream. While she's not completely certain this will work, it's absolutely worth a shot. "Actually, I do have one if you're up for it and don't think it's too cliché."

* * *

A/N: I apologize for the delay. A combination of summer school and a lost internet connection along with working out the direction of the rest of this story is the cause. I'm set in what I want to do now, though, and the next chapter will give you all an indication of what that is. That will come soon and you'll see what Cream and Marine decide to do as both are willing to take things slowly for now.

Until next time, this is Rave!


	12. Witness to the Machine

Sailor's Song

Marine continues to watch Cream perform with The Green Spades not knowing that she's also watching her. After the performance and her comrades panning her obvious flirting, Marine leaves them behind to speak with Cream. She finds her speaking with Charmy, who she met earlier, and his fiancée Saffron. Cream politely asks the two to leave while she has words with Marine.

Cream saw beyond the flirting and thought that because Marine went through the effort of searching her out and getting her attention, it was worth at least a shot to see if there was something there. She initially invites Marine out for a drink, but Marine claimed to have filled her quota for the evening. Cream comes up with another idea, however.

DISCLAIMER: Marine, Cream and all other related characters and properties are owned and operated by SEGA Corporation and Sonic Team. This author makes no such claims and is not paid or compensated for the production of this fiction. Please do not flame.

(Chapter 12- Witness to the Machine)

* * *

Though neither of them have checked the time since leaving for the outskirts of town near a Central City park, both Marine and Cream speak while finishing up their ice cream. That was the idea which the eighteen-year-old rabbit had in lieu of drinks because Marine was not interested in having any more this evening.

After going to a specialty ice cream shop as Cream's treat, the two decided to walk and talk about while enjoying their desserts. Marine had a cup of shoofly pie, which contained chunks of hardened molasses cake in rich vanilla scoops topped off with blueberries and chocolate sauce.

Cream's mouth watered in a bit of jealousy when she first saw it, but when her treat came, that envy went away in a heartbeat. She ordered an apple fritter sundae made with granny smith apples using cinnamon ice cream and strudel pieces topped with a caramel sauce.

Coming close to wrapping it up for this get together, they are deep into a conversation about Marine's background. "So as a First-Class Midshipman, it takes at least three years to get to that rank. So you've been in the Navy since you were sixteen?" The Midshipman nods her head. "Wow! How does that happen?"

"I gained independence from my folks at about that time to expedite the process." Sure, it's a story Marine doesn't like telling because of how it ended, but in her mind it's better to explain this now than to have to worry about revealing it later. "You talked about how your friends and family acted sort of weird learning the truth about you."

"Well, yeah."

"My folks, for the longest time, were in denial," she explains. "I know there are those who will talk about gaydar and whatever else, but I was blatant about it. Very blatant and more promiscuous than a young teen should have any business being. I didn't see any reason to hide or tuck me tail, though. I lost my virginity right after my fourteenth birthday and just didn't look back. My parents gave me an ultimatum, I thought it was bullocks and I haven't given it a second thought."

"They kicked you out?"

"More than kicked me out; they fucking disowned me," Marine clarifies. Cream ponders that and counts herself as fortunate that despite the criticism she's received for various reasons, no one, with the unique exception of a certain two-tailed fox, has written her off for her admissions. "I don't want anyone turning on the waterworks for me, though. It's my life and I choose how I want to live it, you know?"

"I hear you loud and clear. Still I can't believe that your parents, the ones who gave you life, would just throw all of that away because you're gay."

"Not just because I'm gay, Cream," the sailor interrupts, "but because I'm gay and I'm not ashamed, seeking out psychological help or turning to my local convent for spiritual uplifting. Maybe I just don't know how to play by the rules. In any case, I didn't find out until the trial that they thought I was being perverted, and I was, but also that they didn't mind me having these feelings as long as I didn't act upon them, which just…their arguments for why I shouldn't be on my own are…cerebrally mesmerizing.

"No matter the arguments they had, though, they weren't gonna win the case. I spent most of my teen years prior to joining the Navy working on ships and…exploring my feelings. The last two years with them, I didn't even live at home. I would come back home about a day or two a week and that was to…see my little sister and brother."

There's something else Cream can't reconcile in her thoughts. Only a few of her friends are only children, with her being the exception and not the rule. Walking in Marine's shoes for a moment, there's nothing in the world that could ever keep her from family if she could help it. Unfortunately, for Marine, it seemed as if that was exactly what happened and in the midst of her issue with her folks, kids, who all of them were at the time, met an unfair separation because someone chose to be true to themselves. "Now that's gotta be hard," Cream notes to the older girl.

"You don't even know, mate," she replies, trying her best not to get emotional given the circumstances. "I mean there's where it goes from yeah, I see where you're coming from in not wanting your daughter to do the nasty and your plans for her being thwarted by the harsh palm of reality, but when her brother and sister are used as a wedge in between me and my happiness, that's when I have to question what else is going on in your heads. They're kids, not bargaining chips for you to play around with. Zeala and Tasman, that's my sister and brother, they deserved much better.

"I could've been there and given them advice, played with them and been their ears when they needed someone to talk to who weren't mom and dad. We could've helped one another. Instead, we just have our memories and I have…" Digging into her pockets, Marine pulls out a wallet and shows Cream all she has left of her brother and sister not counting the past. She has three different photos, one each of her siblings and the other with her, Zeala and Tasman at ages eleven, seven and five, respectively. "I have this. This is better than nothing, I figure."

"You all look so cute in this picture," Cream remarks.

"That year," Marine figures, "was probably the last year when…bullshit didn't get in the way of good sense. I wasn't completely innocent, but I was still a child. A child who had dreams of sailing the world all by her lonesome, but a child nevertheless."

"You wanted your mom and dad like any child?"

"I wanted them to know that I was no different than when they raised me. I wanted them to know that they did a great job getting me to where I am right now. I would want them to see me, but after the trial, I don't know if they think about me much or even care to. Again, if I wanted to compromise and forgave them for not understanding what other things were happening with me like my ADHD, who knows? I can't bitch about it now, though. It's a little too late."

"Have you ever tried to get in contact with your siblings?"

"If I do that, it would be a violation of the court agreement and I could go to jail." For some reason, learning that causes Cream to grit her teeth. Perhaps hearing those words gave her insight as to not only how serious this situation turned out but how volatile it was for both sides. "When they turn eighteen, they'll be able to do what they want, but they're only fifteen and thirteen, and I don't want to stir the pot."

"But do you want to see them again?"

"More than anything, mate," Marine answers. "I…wow. I don't understand, but I don't mind getting emotional about this or talking about this in front of you. I know we only recently met, but it doesn't seem like that to me. It's like you don't judge me like my folks or try to keep me from doing what I want because of strong personal convictions about right and wrong."

"You're not just blowing smoke in my face, are you?" Cream questions. "I may be new to this game, but I've heard plenty of tricks."

"No, sheila," she admits, "and besides, that's unhealthy. You know, blowing smoke."

Was it really desperation or was this unfamiliar territory for Marine, as well? Cream couldn't tell from her comments, but after having a chuckle or two can come up with this conclusion. "You know, Marine, you're—you're funny, and I mean that with the utmost respect. You really are a trip."

"Well, as long as I don't fall flat on my face, I'll keep on being one if that makes you happy."

"Yeah…it actually does." Again, all of this is foreign to Cream and given that she wants to know some more about Marine without cutting into her sleep time, she decides to go to the next level. 'Why the hell not' she ponders as she pulls a pen and paper from her wallet. "It's getting sort of late. Don't you have some sort of curfew?"

"The boys back at base aren't as rigid about it during the weekends."

"Still, I don't want you in the doghouse on my account. I would like to see you again, so may I get your information?"

"Just as long as I get yours then, as far as I see it, she'll be apples," says the raccoon as the two trade e-mail, phone numbers and residence numbers.

After thanking Marine for the information Cream asks, "Now, you will call if I don't, right?"

"When are you available for some words?"

"This afternoon. I have band practice during the midday."

"Sounds ripper," Marine says. "I look forward to your call if something comes up, though. Don't be afraid to leave a message if you ring me first."

"All right. That's excellent. I'll be making my way back to base now."

"You really up for that?" Cream questions. "I can take you there if you want."

"No need to go through the trouble, sheila, but thanks. I'll manage." That said, Marine walks off and on her way out of the park. Due to fatigue and a question of whether she was going too far in one evening or not, Marine agreed with Cream and decided to cut their talks short, but only for this night.

Cream can only assume that she's heading downtown and towards the shoreline military base. She wishes her a good night before she goes too far and watches the raccoon disappear into the trees. It's been a long and productive night for her from getting over 800 rings for a gig to finding a girl flirting with her, as pathetic as it might have been; this has certainly been a night to remember for the young rabbit.

Turning around and heading to the park lot to get to her scooter, Cream spots something odd out from the side of her eye and a ways off in the distance. Away from the asphalt road she sees a bright flame burning. It's small, but quite visible, especially with the blue beings floating around it. To describe the scene would be very awkward, but there it is. About three or four chaos are flying around a small brush fire and, though she isn't certain, Cream thinks she can hear them cooing in unison.

"What in the world is that?" The temperatures aren't exactly ones that require the need for a fire to be lit. It's early summer and Cream doesn't get the reason for this scene. She's no Blaze, but her curiosity is getting the best of her, for better or worse. Slowly walking up to the area, she tries not to disturb the chaos, but stops when she hears piercingly loud screaming coming from the flames. Leaning in, she could hear them clearer and they sounded very familiar. 'But why' she asks.

She doesn't get much time to ponder this screaming as Cream hears sirens coming closer. As she scans the perimeter to find out where they are coming from, she looks back toward the source of the fire only to see that it's gone along with the chaos. Cream is flabbergasted because the image looked so real to her and the screaming felt legitimate; as if someone were really in a great deal of pain.

Again, forced out of her thoughts, she hears another familiar voice scream, "Cream, get out of here! This is a dangerous spot!" Looking up, she finds Shadow there along with one of his associates, Alicia, but no Rouge in sight. Either way, the two have their G.U.N. paraphernalia on, leaving Cream to believe that they must be on official business. Shadow doesn't have to tell her twice, so she runs off in the direction of her scooter, leaving with far more questions than answers putting icing on the cake of this truly memorable evening.

* * *

A/N: I think the next one will come sooner. I'm pretty sure, at least. It will pick up immediately where this one left off. Stay tuned!

Until then, this is Rave!


	13. Rose Colored Glasses

Sailor's Song

Cream's suggestion, which Marine agreed with, was to go to an ice cream parlor and have some treats. Well after midnight, they then decide to have a walk through Central City Park and talk about life. The conversation revolves around Marine's background and she gets real deep and emotional, especially when talking about her younger siblings.

Both felt a connection and while they wanted to continue, they stopped because Cream was getting tired and Marine had internal issues with whether or not she is going too far too soon with these foreign feelings that could mean love and not sex. Cream offers to send Marine back to the barracks, but she declines, saying she can make it on her own.

Cream then saw an unusual and awkward site of about four chaos tending to a small fire. Given that it was a hot night, there was no need for a fire. Going closer, she heard some familiar screams, which caused her confusion. Before she could get closer, Shadow and Alicia come in and tell Cream to go home because she's in a danger zone. She didn't respond, only doing what Shadow told her to do.

DISCLAIMER: Marine, Cream and all other related characters and properties are owned and operated by SEGA Corporation and Sonic Team. This author makes no such claims and is not paid or compensated for the production of this fiction. Please do not flame.

(Chapter 13- Rose-Colored Glasses)

* * *

"What do your coordinates say, Alicia?"

"The system says that the chaos energy should be about fifteen meters east by northeast," she responds as the two of them walk toward the direction of what should be the site only for the blip on the satellite map to suddenly disappear.

While Shadow is intent with walking over to the site in question, he's stopped by his co-worker. "Shadow, hold on! It's gone!"

Turning around after stopping, Shadow asks Alicia, "What the hell do you mean, 'It's gone'? You told me it's here. We should see it."

"Well, do you see anything here? This is actually the spot where it's supposed to be, but…nothing and the mark disappeared on my navigation."

Shaking his head, an old proverb hit him right in the face. It was déjà vu all over again as this is the fourth time in which high levels of chaos energy has appeared in the Central City area, both urban and suburban, and they haven't been able to catch it. It's getting really old for him as he says to Alicia coming closer. "You're equipment, these last ten days, has been leading Rouge and I on a wild goose chase, and for what? We _still _don't know why the hell Chaos energy keeps rearing its ugly head and we keep coming back to square one because each time we hit a dead end. We need something better because even when we're in the vicinity, it shows up and ships out like it's on the next transcontinental flight out of here."

"Don't blame it all on me," says the sassy female squirrel. "Remember, we've been getting these reports from _our _higher-ups. They're the ones who want us to check up on this information and we're only following orders. That's not something you can justifiably rest on my shoulders, so just watch what you're saying. There's always more to the puzzle than just the pieces."

Shadow can't argue with logic, especially when it's coming from a voice aiming to be as fair as she can and putting matters into their proper perspective. Nodding his head, he tells her, "You're right. Maybe we should relook all of these things and see what develops. You've saved all our coordinates, right?"

"I wouldn't be an agent worth my nickel badge if I didn't." Alicia, looking over the screen of her device for a few more seconds, asks Shadow, "Rouge was told to go home and take time off after getting into a fight with a Midshipman, right?"

"That's right."

"But…that doesn't mean that we can't have her looking at some paper to help us during this matter."

"What are you getting to, Alicia?"

"I'm saying," she replies, "Rouge can't do anything strenuous, but I just need as many heads as I can get looking at this data to see if there's a common bond. If we find it, maybe we can find a code to get ahead of them before they cut and run. I'll call her and see if we can look at this stuff at her home."

"All right," Shadow concedes. Looking back in the area where the chaos energy was supposed to be, he remarks, "I can't stop you, but who knows if she'll even be up for it, even if we're looking over data. When she went home on Thursday, she practically fell into her bed and wasn't answering most of my calls."

"Do you know of anyone she could contact to help her during this time?"

"Well, it's interesting," Shadow remarks. "Rouge then told me that her mom wanted her and her sister, Rose, to connect more because of a volatile situation that affected her and, in turn, left the family quite frazzled. If you want to know more about it, I think she'll answer any questions you have."

"So her sister is gonna be there to watch over her?"

"Alicia, I heard something of that sort, but I couldn't give you an absolute yes or no." As Shadow continues his explanation, he brings out his cell phone and proceeds to dial his comrade's number to confirm his arrival. "Rouge left that sort of ambiguous, but I'll squash any concerns you have in just a moment."

"We're not far from her home, so let's just keep walking," Alicia figures. "We'll be there before you know it."

* * *

Fifteen minutes pass as the two agents makes their way to Rouge's house and see a bat creature exit the house. Alicia initially believes she's spotted her associate leaving her home, but a closer look reveals a younger face with less of a figure than the thirty-year old Rouge and a pink complexion. On pure assumption, she yelled out to the bat, "Hey, excuse me!"

The female bat turned around not recognizing the squirrel, but remembering the black hedgehog in pictures and stories from Rouge. "Yes?"

"Would you happen to be Rose the Bat?"

"Yes. Did you call Rouge about ten minutes ago concerning some work?"

Glad to know that she wouldn't be running into any trouble while finding Rose, Alicia says, "Yeah. We just wanted to go over a few things with her concerning a recent mission." Walking up to her she introduces herself, saying, "I'm Alicia Acorn and this is Shadow the Hedgehog. We're both from the Guardian Unit of Nations."

"You want to discuss some top secret information that if I were to know about would be enough to off me?"

"Pretty much," Alicia concedes. "Not meaning to be that…blunt, but I think you get the idea. I can't have just anyone knowing these facts."

"Well, not to be a hindrance, but there are a lot of things working against you right now," Rose responds. "It's pretty damn late, Rouge has done nothing but answer the door since I came here and I just got in town yesterday evening. She's eaten a little bit, but most of the time she's just been in bed. How badly can someone get knocked out?"

"If I may," Shadow interjects, "the blow was quite hard. I mean, Rouge gave you the details, right?"

"Yeah, she got thrown against a dumpster by a resurfacing enemy of the family yet cleared to go home that same day. Here I am thinking that your fancy pants government jobs had Cadillac health plans, but…apparently she's well enough to come here, bitch about her head pounding and throw up if I make any sudden changes to the light in her home."

"Have you thought about sending her back to the hospital for further evaluation? It could be something bigger than the symptoms are showing."

"Alicia if Rouge's condition doesn't get any better in the next twelve hours, that's gonna be my next move," Rose replies. "I don't give a damn if she hates hospitals, I have to step in and take a stand for her sake. If my older sister is in no condition to work or take on all this classified information, I'd have to say no. She's been very…moody since I got here. Come on into her room and we'll see if anything's changed."

Rose flies in the direction of the door back into her older sister's home. Alicia walks in that same direction, but gets stopped by Shadow grabbing her by the right arm. "Wait, Alicia," he says softly.

"Shadow! What's gotten into you?"

"I'm sorry, but I don't want Rose hearing me," he whispers. "Just wait for her to go back into the house."

Once Rose makes her way to the door and gets inside the house, Alicia turns around to ask him, "What the hell was that about?"

"I…Alicia, we've been working with Rouge for a good amount of time," he confides. "Did any of that make sense to you at all? Rouge knows what she gets herself into when she goes to work. She takes bumps, bruises and gets into fights all the time because she has to do that. I've _never_ known her to be reluctant about going to the emergency room. And moody? I know she's snarky and somewhat smarmy, but moody? I just never got that out of her and I've known her for over twelve years."

"You think Rose is lying to us?" Alicia inquires. "What reason would she have to do that?"

"Not exactly lying as much as it's stretching the truth. I paid close attention to Rose's words and…they just have me curious."

Shadow's counterpart just is not seeing what he is. "So, you're saying…"

"Look, though I don't want to betray the trust of Rouge and her family, this is eventually gonna come out…no pun intended."

"Excuse me?"

"As you know, a few days back Rouge got into a fight with a Midshipman who travels several cities worldwide on goodwill duty. They have a history together because on one tour last year, this girl named Marine had a one night stand with Rose."

"What?"

"Everyone in that family was just floored, especially given that Marine cut and ran without saying anything and she never came back to explain herself."

"Oh, my stars!" Alicia exclaims.

"It doesn't end there," Shadow continues, somewhat crestfallen. "Apparently, the family didn't know about Rose's…orientation until she got backed into a corner about Marine and was left naked in the eyes of her folks and siblings. Rouge took it really hard at first because they talked about everything, or so Rouge thought. They're trying to reconcile, from what I've heard through Rogue and though it's tough, they take it a day at a time."

"Well, hate to sound cruel, but there's not much we can do about their family affairs right now. Let's go inside, Shadow. I'm sure Rouge is waiting for us."

"Good idea," he answers as the two of them walk towards the front door of Rouge's home.

* * *

While sitting up in her bed and taking notes, Rouge the Bat holds her cell phone in her left hand as she takes notes in her right hand. Nodding, she replies, "I love what I'm hearing from you right now."

Though she's tickled by the voice of someone on the other end of the line, Rose enters the room as Rouge asks, "Just so we're clear, you have enough information to book this tomorrow?" As Rouge continues to listen, her sister listens closely to the sounds of the house and hears two pairs of feet stepping on the stairs. Figuring that the two are coming in soon, Rose signals to her sister to wrap up her call.

Seeing this, Rouge nods to her sister and points her to the door mouthing, 'Watch out for them,' as she quickly tells the individual on the other end, "I have to go. I'll call you in the afternoon. Thank you and goodbye." After shutting her phone, she places it near her clock and pulls her bed covers over her body.

Three seconds later, Alicia and Shadow enter Rouge's room seeing what appears to be a weakened operative finding it difficult to make sudden movements including turning her head to Alicia just to say hello.

"Are you up for some number crunching, Rouge?" Alicia asks.

Getting up and stretching her arms and neck, she answers "I got your call. I'm up to it for now. Be warned, though; if I fall asleep, it's not a life-threatening problem as much as I'm just tired."

"Noted," Shadow remarks. "Okay, Alicia. Let's see if we can make heads or tails of this."

"Yes, sir," she answers placing her unorganized materials onto Rouge's bed and sets up a map large enough for the three in the room to see. Before they go further in their work, Alicia points out Rose, standing by the doorway.

"Uh, here," Rouge says, reaching into her pockets to pull out some money to hand to Rose. The younger bat grabs it and thanks her sister, who says, "Use it for whatever you want. We just need an hour or two together and in private."

"Thanks, sis. I shouldn't be long either," she admits before saying goodbye to Rouge's co-workers and leaving the premises.

* * *

A/N: Why did this take so long? Will the excuse 'life got in the way' suffice? What about finding some difficulty in writing this chapter? Well, I think the next step is a brief hiatus, though, because I don't see my other issues ending soon. If I do that, I'll make sure to get chapter 15 out there to you, because a major plot point with the main story and the sub story come together there.


End file.
